Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
ROY — A bicyclist who police say was run over several times by the same car has died from his injuries.
Now police say they will meet with the Weber County Attorney's Office to determine what, if any, criminal charges should be filed.
Warren Yoshio Watanabe, 62, was riding his bicycle on the sidewalk in Roy on Sept. 20 and was passing Warren's Family Restaurant, 5523 S. 3500 West, when a car pulling out of the parking lot hit him, according to police.
The woman driving the car backed up, paused, then drove forward and struck the bicyclist again. The woman again backed up, paused "and then drives forward and at this time, she runs over Warren who is lying on the ground directly in front of the vehicle," according to a search warrant affidavit.
The woman then put her car in reverse for a third time and ran over Watanabe one more time going backward, the warrant states. It was then that the woman got out of her car and saw Watanabe on the ground and called 911.
The incident was recorded on the restaurant's security camera. The restaurant's general manager said it appeared the driver did not realize she had hit a bicyclist.
Watanabe suffered "14 broken ribs, a shattered kidney, a damaged liver, and was unable to breathe on his own," according to the warrant. He died from his injuries on Sept. 25.
Watanabe was born in Oregon and graduated from Roy High School in 1978, according to his obituary.
"He was an avid fisherman and he loved to watch his war and Western movies. He also loved spending time with his family," his obituary states.
Roy police do not believe the 77-year-old driver of the car intentionally ran over Watanabe. Investigators believe the woman did not realize she hit a bicycle, but apparently knew she had hit something and kept trying to drive around or over it by backing up and going forward.
Contributing: Mike Anderson
