Burney business owner seriously injured after run over by car

November 6, 2021 Trevor Montgomery

BURNEY, Calif., — Authorities say the owner of a Burney automotive business was seriously injured when he was run over by an elderly driver yesterday afternoon, Friday, Oct. 5. The business owner was struck by the woman while attempting to guide her onto a car lift inside the location.

The victim, Robert Watkins, 63, of Burney, was run over by the woman’s SUV and tires, and suffered serious injuries to his legs and other significant trauma, according to California Highway Patrol.

LEADING THE SCNS HEADLINES:
Search continuing for driver who struck Anderson woman on mobility scooter, fled scene
UPDATE: More details emerge after shots fired in Redding leads to felon’s arrest, weapons seized
Federal fugitive and Anderson man arrested after Redding stolen vehicle pursuit and crash
Fatally run over by garbage truck while sleeping in dark alley, Redding woman, 56, ID’d
24 Shasta County sex offenders targeted during county-wide “Operation BOO”

CHP and other emergency personnel were dispatched to the Precision Lube Express at 37451 Enterprise Drive around 1:45 p.m. after receiving reports of a man who was run over by a car inside the small business, CHP Officer Chris Ogden told SCNS this morning.

Responding from just down the street, Burney Fire Protection District firefighters and EMTs arrived at the scene within two minutes of the dispatched call and found the injured owner of the business down inside the building. They also located a Nissan SUV and its distraught driver nearby.

Suspecting that both Watkins’ legs were possibly broken, he was transported to Mayers in Fall River for further evaluation and treatment. His current condition was not immediately available and calls to the business this morning went unanswered.

During his subsequent investigation Ogden interviewed the involved driver, Karen Bagley, 80, of Burney, who had come to the Precision Lube Express to have her vehicle serviced. Although very shaken, she was uninjured in the collision, which caused minor front-end damage to her vehicle.

Ogden learned Watkins was inside the business in front of Bagley’s SUV and was guiding her onto the location’s car lift when she inadvertently accelerated instead of using her brake and drove up and over the business owner, causing his serious injuries.

After driving over Watkins, Bagley’s vehicle continued forward, where it then smashed through the back rollup door, which had been closed at the time.

SEE RELATED: More than twice the legal limit, Frontier employee arrested for DUI in Burney

“She just said she got super nervous because it was really narrow and she was driving up onto the ramps,” Ogden explained.

“As she was being guided onto the ramps she thought her foot was on the brake and accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake,” Ogden continued; adding, “She ran right over the top of him and crashed right out the back door.”

Neither drug or alcohol intoxication were suspected as contributing factors in the collision according to Ogden; who said no charges were expected as a result of the accident.

Contacted this morning, Precision Lube Express had a recording indicating that the business would remain closed until further notice due to the accident.

While investigating this accident, Ogden was called off to handle reports of a possible drunk driver who 911 callers reported had nearly collided with multiple vehicles and pedestrians while traveling from Old Station to Burney.

The driver, who was on duty and working for Frontier Internet, was ultimately arrested after he was determined to be more than two times the legal .08 BAC limit.

Ogden this morning told SCNS that the Frontier technician, a 32-year-old resident of Lake California, said he had been drinking vodka and was drunk on duty because he hated his job and has to drink just to get through each work day.

“I work for Frontier and everybody hates me because of the bad service up here,” he reportedly said while being arrested at the scene.

native advertising

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 50, 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.