By Shaun Bishop
San Jose Mercury News
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — A Redwood City police officer who accidentally ran over a man with his patrol car early Monday morning has been placed on administrative leave and may be disciplined for the incident, police said Tuesday.
The officer, who police declined to identify, was responding to a report of a fight at about 2:40 a.m. near the Denny’s restaurant at 1201 Broadway in Redwood City when he struck Francisco Huerta, 32, said Capt. Ron Matuszak.
Huerta, who police say is a Menlo Park resident, remained in critical condition Tuesday at Stanford Hospital, authorities said.
Witnesses told police several people had jumped out of a green sport utility vehicle early Monday and started a fight with Huerta, who was apparently knocked unconscious near the restaurant’s driveway during the scuffle.
When the first officer arrived, he pulled off Broadway into the parking lot and ran over Huerta’s torso, causing serious injuries, Matuszak said. A California Highway Patrol spokeswoman said Huerta also had abrasions and lacerations to his head.
Matuszak said the officer was probably focused on a crowd that had congregated near the restaurant’s entrance and simply didn’t see Huerta.
“It would appear to be a very sad but a simple accident,” Matuszak said.
The CHP is investigating the accident but authorities did not say Tuesday how fast the officer was driving.
The people in the sport utility vehicle drove away from the scene and had not been found by late Tuesday. Police said the cause of the fight, which reportedly involved eight people, is not yet clear.
A manager at Denny’s declined to comment on the incident Tuesday afternoon, saying employees working at the time were not available.
Matuszak said the officer’s name will be released eventually, but he wants to give him “some time to decompress” and tell his family what happened. The officer has been with the department about two years, he said.
“He’s upset about it. This person (Huerta) is seriously injured. There’s just no urgency in releasing the name,” Matuszak said.
Once the CHP’s investigation is complete, the case will be forwarded to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office for review. Police will decide what internal administrative sanctions to take against the officer, if any, after the district attorney’s report is done, Matuszak said.
“Officers are disciplined when they have automobile accidents even though they’re indeed accidents if they’re found to be at fault, so we’ll have to see what the CHP says,” Matuszak said.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Redwood City Police Department at 650-780-7100.
Copyright 2008 San Jose Mercury News