CAR SLAMS CALIFORNIA DEPUTY

A Sutter County Sheriff’s Department deputy suffered only moderate injuries early Wednesday when she was knocked 10 to 15 feet by a car, a department spokesman said. Luckily for Deputy Amy Kema, her head hit the “soft spot” in the middle of the car’s windshield instead of harder areas to the left or right. Her body dented the hood of the Toyota sedan, said Undersheriff J. Paul Parker.

The accident occurred about 8 a.m. on Joseph Street west of Walton Avenue in Yuba City. Kema was taking measurements at an accident scene where an 11-year-old bicyclist had just been hit by a car on his way to school. His injuries were minor, said Parker. Traffic on eastbound Joseph Street had been stopped while Kema and another deputy investigated the first accident, “but somehow a vehicle got past,” the driver possibly looking into the early morning sun, he said.

The driver, 50-year-old Amarjit Aujla of Yuba City, drove around stopped traffic and failed to see Kema standing in the road, according to a report by the California Highway Patrol, which is investigating the accident.

Aujla’s car was going about 15 mph, said Parker. She was not immediately cited, according to a CHP report.

Kema, 39, a deputy for five years, had no broken bones but ustained “moderate” injuries to her leg, hip, back and head. “We’re just happy and glad she’s going to be OK,” said Parker. The boy on the bike was cutting across Joseph Street when he was hit by a vehicle driven by Jaclyinn Jones, 20, a resident of the neighborhood.

Parker said he had no report on the first accident because Kema was the one preparing it.