By Dennis Box-The Courier-Herald
Bonney Lake Officer Vince Sainati was struck by a vehicle while patrolling on his motorcycle Monday at about 4 p.m. in the 19800 block of Sumner Buckley Highway.
Sainati's motorcycle was hit on its left side, throwing him off the bike. His injuries included bruising, road rash scrapes on his left side, but no broken bones.
The officer was traveling eastbound on Sumner-Buckley Highway when the vehicle, driven by a 55-year-old woman, turned in front of him.
“The woman didn't see me,” Sainati said. “She was fixated on a larger object behind me, a truck, and was trying to make the turn.”
Sainati said he saw her coming at him and, “I put on the brakes real hard.”
He went toward the shoulder of the road, but could not avoid being hit in what the police department described as an “accelerated high-side collision.”
“It could have been a lot worse,” Sainati said. “The good thing is I was not at fault. I did everything that I could.”
The officer said he was pitched into the air, but never lost consciousness.
“I remember everything,” Sainati said. “I was flipping in the air and I saw sky and I saw ground and I saw sky and I saw ground. I did get the wind knocked out of me.”
Sainati was able to find his microphone and radio to dispatch an officer was down. Police department officers, Pierce County Sheriff's deputies and East Pierce Fire and Rescue emergency personnel responded to the scene. He was transported to St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma.
The police department reported no injuries to the woman driving the car.
Sainati was released from the hospital Monday evening.
“I'll see the doctor Tuesday to see how I'm healing up,” Sainati said. “Then I will see when I can come back on the job.”
This is the first motorcycle accident Sainati has been involved in since he began motorcycle patrol four years ago.
“I've had other close calls.” Sainati said. “It's part of the job as a motorcycle cop.”
Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@courierherald.com or 360-802-8209.
