MIDDLETOWN — A pedestrian reportedly suffered minor injuries after being struck by a truck driven by Lake County Sheriff Frank Rivero Monday evening.
“This fellow just stepped out in front of me. There was nothing I could do. I tried to stop and I just couldn”t in time,” Rivero said during a phone interview Tuesday.
Rivero, 53, was driving a 2001 GMC pickup northbound on Highway 29 in Middletown approaching Wardlaw Street at about 7:50 p.m. when a man attempted to cross the highway at the intersection, according to the California Highway Patrol (CHP).
Rivero saw the man – later identified as Clinton Turney, 34, of Middletown – and applied his brakes but couldn”t avoid hitting the pedestrian, the CHP said.
Rivero, who was off-duty and driving his personal pickup at the time, said he had just left Hardester”s Market, located just south of the intersection.
He said he began proceeding through the intersection at about 15 to 20 mph after the light turned green but didn”t see the pedestrian enter the road in enough time to stop.
Turney clipped the front-right part of the truck, according to Rivero, who reported that he stopped and called 9-1-1.
Turney sustained minor injuries and was transported to a Santa Rosa hospital, the CHP said.
“I hope he does OK and recovers quickly,” Rivero said.
The CHP continues to investigate the incident and has not determined who was at fault, Officer Kory Reynolds said Tuesday. Reynolds reported no updates about Turney”s condition.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
