The truck driver must have realized at some point he had run Bobby over, he was there to receive a container and never picked it up.
Eddie Mondor
Traffic stood still for hours at the Port of Long Beach Wednesday morning while officers scoured the Pacific Container Terminal in search of the driver who ran over a dock supervisor.
Marine clerk Robert Beech, 41, was waving hand signals to a crane operator from the ground when an unidentified truck driver ran over him with the front wheels of an empty trailer, said Long Beach police spokesman Officer David Marander.
Beech a Long Beach resident, suffered several broken bones and chest injuries. He was transported to St. Mary Medical Center where he was listed in stable condition Wednesday afternoon. The trailer that toppled him may have weighed as much as seven tons, port officials said.
Shortly after the incident was reported at 9:08 am., Pacific Container officials closed the terminal gates to prevent possible suspects from fleeing the scene. The gates were reopened about two hours later. Harbor Patrol officers were unable to find the driver.
Witnesses said the trucker, who was driving an orange cab, did not stop and appeared not to realize what had happened. Marander said the investigation is being treated as a felony hit-and-run until the driver is found.
Surveillance cameras captured footage of the accident and investigators will be reviewing the film today, Marander said.
Port of Long Beach Spokesman Art Wong said the accident compounded work slowdowns, which have continued at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles since last week in response to disputes in union contract negotiations.
He said traffic was back to normal by 3 p.m.
