Local : Costa Mesa Officer Seriously Hurt When Struck While Writing Ticket
A Costa Mesa motorcycle officer was seriously injured today when he was struck by a car while standing along a busy thoroughfare writing a traffic ticket for another motorist.
Officer Robert Bamgardner, 39, of Costa Mesa was in serious but stable condition at Western Medical Center with internal injuries, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Bamgardner had stopped a car just off the slow lane on Adams Street between Harbor Boulevard and S Street when the 10 a.m. accident occurred, police said. As Bamgardner was standing on the driver’s side writing the ticket, he was hit by a blue Honda Civic driven by Richard Martin Fitch, 19, of Huntington Beach. Witnesses said Bamgardner was thrown about 15 feet through the air. He apparently had unsnapped his motorcycle helmet, which flew off when he was hit.
Although Fitch was not cited immediately after the episode, the California Highway Patrol was called in to investigate, Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Robert Ballinger said.
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