Police officer hospitalized after wreck
Tuesday, June 2, 2009, 2:21pm
Police investigate a wreck involving a police car.
A Belen police officer was hospitalized around noon after the police car he was driving was hit by a truck.
The truck, a maroon Toyota Tacoma, struck the side of the police car, mangling the driver side door and injuring the officer inside. The truck’s grill flew off into a nearby gutter, while window glass, engine fluids and auto parts littered the street.
The wreck took place at the intersection of Becker Avenue and Third Street in Belen.
The Toyota's grill in the gutter.
Patrolman Emmanuel Gutierrez with the New Mexico State Police said he learned during his conversation with the driver of truck that the police officer ran the stop sign on Third Street. Witnesses at the scene said the police car didn’t have its emergency lights or siren on at the time.
Gutierrez said he couldn’t comment further or come to any conclusions because he hadn’t spoken with the police officer, who was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital due to “visible injuries.”
The driver of the truck also was taken to a hospital, saying he was in pain.
A truck struck the side of a police car.
Belen Police Captain Dan Robb, who helped Gutierrez gather evidence at the scene, refused to provide any information on what happened, citing an ongoing investigation.
UPDATE (6/2/09): Robb said the officer was released from the hospital this afternoon and will return to work tomorrow. Any disciplinary action will be taken at the conclusion of the state police investigation, if needed, he said, adding the officer was responding to a call at the time of the wreck.
It remains unclear if the officer used the police car’s emergency lights and siren when responding to the call, which will likely be determined by the investigation.
