Drunken Montague disturbance leads to rollover DUI crash, ejection

MONTAGUE, Calif. — A drunken disturbance in Montague spun out of control early Thursday morning, June 24, when the man accused of causing the problem got into a car and sped away from a responding deputy and CHP officers. While officials were trying to catch up to his vehicle, he lost control and crashed, with his car overturning multiple times.

The allegedly intoxicated driver, who was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, was ejected from his overturning vehicle and critically injured in the solo-vehicle crash. The accident occurred along northbound Ager Road near Shelley Road, according to officials who investigated the initial call and subsequent accident.

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A Siskiyou County sheriff’s deputy and California Highway Patrol officers were dispatched to the 500 block of North 9th Street at around 3:30 a.m., after receiving reports of a disturbance involving an intoxicated subject, officials have since reported.

A short time later, officials spotted the man, Aaron Burlew, in a silver Acura traveling southbound on North 9th Street “at very high speed.” He was then seen turning westbound onto SR-3, and then heading northbound on Ager Road.

While CHP officers attempted to catch up to Burlew to initiate a traffic enforcement stop as he continued traveling northbound on Ager Road near Shelley Road, he lost control of his vehicle and careened off the roadway. The out of control car then rolled several times before coming to rest.

“Burlew was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the Acura, subsequently sustaining major injuries,” said officials; who added that alcohol intoxication was believed to be a contributing factor in the major-injury crash.

Burlew was initially transported to the Fairchild Medical Center in Yreka, but due to the severity of his injuries he was later airlifted to Mercy Medical Center Redding. His current condition was not immediately known.

CHP – Yreka later used the opportunity to remind citizens that “alcohol and operating a motor vehicle never mix” and to always wear your seatbelt.



Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.