Hit-and-Run Victim Might Lose His Leg

An Anaheim man remained in serious condition and in jeopardy of having a leg amputated Saturday after a hit-and-run accident in which he was violently pinned between a car and a utility pole in Stanton, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Sebastian Niedes, 37, was walking near the intersection of Beach Boulevard and Katella Avenue at 6:29 a.m. when two cars collided in the intersection. One of the vehicles was sent spinning in his direction.

Officials said they were still determining just how the collision occurred. Their investigation was hampered because one of the drivers fled in what was described only as a silver compact car.

Sheriff’s Lt. Larry Abbott said the driver who fled had been traveling east on Katella and “T-boned” a vehicle headed south on Beach. The second car, driven by a 33-year-old pregnant woman from Anaheim, spun out of control and struck the pedestrian.

Abbott said that since the vehicles collided in the intersection, one had run the signal light. He said it wasn’t clear Saturday which had done so.

The pedestrian’s left leg was nearly severed by the impact and his right leg was broken in several places. He was rushed to UCI Medical Center in Orange and later transferred to the trauma center at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

The woman, who officers said was “extremely shaken up,” was taken to Western Medical Center-Anaheim. Abbott said she is four months pregnant and was treated for shock.