Port Hueneme police officer recovering after being pinned by vehicle (CA)

[TowNews]

Mini-van came loose from tow truck

PORT HUENEME, Calif. - A Port Hueneme Police Officer is recovering after a mini-van pinned her underneath a vehicle during a traffic collision.

Authorities blocked off a portion of North Ventura Road in Port Hueneme Sunday night just after 7 p.m. when a police officer became pinned underneath a mini-van. 

“She was shaken up about the incident,” said Port Hueneme Police Sergeant Eric Starna.

Officer Gladys Rosete responded to a minor 3-car traffic collision earlier that night, but it quickly took a turn for the worse. Airport Towing arrived on scene to remove a mini-van that was involved in the crash.

“During the process of the vehicle loaded onto the bed of the tow truck, the vehicle came loose and rolled back down on the bed,” said Starna. “It collided with another vehicle that had already been involved in the collision, and a portion of the vehicle pinned officer Rosete down on the ground.”

“Tomorrow the high way patrol is sending out a tow truck inspector to assist with the investigation to see what actually happened last night,” said Starna.

Police say that Officer Rosete was transported to St. John’s hospital were she was treated for injuries to her legs and right hip. She was released from the hospital late Sunday night.

 

Officer Gladys Rosete was pinned by a mini-van that came loose from a tow truck while responding

to a vehicle accident in Port Hueneme. (Port Hueneme Police Department)

 

RESOURCE LINK

 

 

[GRUMPS The Towman]

Thats horrible. It's wonderful to hear that the officer will be ok. Now, on to the situation. From what i can see from the photo's, The winch line is still connected to the casualty and run up the length of the deck indicating that the line did not break and the operator's rigging held. So it is safe to assume the winch disengaged and free wheeled. Being a piece of machinery, sometimes there is failure. We all know that. My concern is with the operator's actions during the loading procedure. If the vehicle was up in position on the deck then why wasn't a safety strap or chain thrown on to prevent a roll off? when i load a vehicle the first thing i do when the vehicle in in position on the deck is connect a safety strap just to catch it if something should fail. Next the operator obviously did not have control of his scene by letting the officer into the path way of the casualty. It's imperative to keep bystanders from the pathway of the loaded vehicle for just this sort of situation. Just my 2 cents on the situation. The officers injuries could have been easily avoided. Even with the best maintenance schedule and top equipment, mechanical machinery sometimes fail. we have to be prepared for those situations as professionals.

[rreschran]

Regarding this incident ... here's a link to an article I wrote in Police Magazine May 31, 2019 regarding these kinds of incidents.

 

https://www.policemag.com/514852/beware-of-towing-hazards