Man Is Run Over 4 Times by Own Truck
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LA PALMA — A 73-year-old man was critically injured Thursday when he was run over repeatedly by his own truck, police said. Robert H. Betts of Tustin was driving in the 4500 block of Sharon Drive at 10:40 a.m. when, for some reason, he stopped and got out of his pickup truck toward the west end of the street.
Police said that when Betts tried to get back into the truck, he may have knocked the gears into reverse, causing the truck to roll backward. He apparently tried to stop it by hanging onto the driver’s door, Sgt. Sven Hansen said.
Betts was dragged along the pavement until he lost his balance and fell. The truck, which was stuck in reverse, continued to roll backward in circles and ran over the man four times before a witness jumped in and stopped it, Hansen said.
Betts was airlifted to UCI Medical Center in Orange where he was in critical condition. His family was with him at the hospital, a spokeswoman said.
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