Councilman involved in accident Wednesday

by Oscar de León
Staff Writer

A traffic accident involving a La Verne City Councilman and a pedestrian, which left the pedestrian in critical condition took place at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the 3200 Block of D Street.

According to La Verne Police, Councilman Patrick Gatti, 59, hit pedestrian Sharan Singh, 62, who was pushing a wheelchair across the street at the time

LVPD officers found Singh unconscious at the scene apparently struck by Gatti's vehicle, police said.

Sing was taken to Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center's intensive care unit, where he was listed in critical condition following the accident, said California Highway Patrol spokesman John Escobeto.

Investigations on the cause of the accident are still in progress, police said.

"The investigations have been taken over by the California Highway Patrol because of Gatti's position at the city of La Verne," said La Verne police Sgt. Steve Kirk.

At the time of the accident, Gatti was going southbound at roughly 30 miles per hour while Singh was attempting to cross the street, police said.

Singh was not at a crosswalk, police said.

After Singh reached the middle of the street, he started waving traffic to pass through, police said. Gatti's vehicle struck him shortly after he resumed crossing, said John Escobeto, CHP Spokesman for the Baldwin Park Station.

Singh was airlifted to the hospital, said La Verne resident Jose Savedra, who had seen the pedestrian walking across the same street on other occasions.

Gatti, who also owns the La Verne Florist shop on D Street, said he had no comment on the incident.