CHP Officer Blind-Sided, Hit by Bicyclist
CHICO A California Highway Patrol officer less than 35 days from retirement was injured Monday when he was run over by a bicyclist on a path directly across the street from the CHP headquarters on Fir Street.
Officer Curtis Zaugg suffered severe road rash, bruises and a dislocated rib, said fellow officer Tony Nunes, who was with Zaugg when he was struck.
Nunes said he and Zaugg were in the office Monday afternoon when a jogger came in and said a man had collapsed near a trail that runs under Highway 99, south of where Humboldt Road becomes Fir.
Zaugg was on duty, but in plain clothes because he was training his replacement, Nunes said.
Nunes, Zaugg and officer Paul Sadowski ran across the street and found a man later identified as Kenneth Littlethunder, 61, collapsed on the trail.
They learned the man had allegedly been riding a bicycle while intoxicated and rolled down an embankment near the trail and into Little Chico Creek.
He staggered up the embankment, soaking wet, Nunes said, and fell down beside the pathway.
Sadowski ran back to the CHP office to call for medical assistance and report the incident to Chico police.
Zaugg and Nunes stayed with the cyclist, who appeared to be incapacitated. As the two officers stood by, another bicyclist suddenly came around a blind corner, rode up on the wheel of Littlethunder's disabled bike, and launched in the air, directly at Zaugg.
Nunes said the officer was knocked backwards and flew partially down an embankment.
Nunes said Zaugg was stunned, and couldn't speak for about 30 seconds.
He was transported to Enloe Medical Center by ambulance, and admitted for treatment, but returned to work on Thursday.
"He was completely blind-sided," said Nunes, who recalled that the bicyclist missed hitting him by only a few inches.
Littlethunder, not seriously injured, was arrested on suspicion of being drunk in public.
The bicyclist who hit Zaugg wasn't arrested, although he allegedly failed to observe a stop sign on the bike path that may have avoided the crash.
Copyright 2011 MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG NewspapersAll Rights Reserved
