Last Updated on February 15, 2019 by CCAR Staff
A Redlands police officer was seriously hurt after he crashed his patrol vehicle into a power pole at Church Street and Lugonia Avenue on Friday morning, knocking out power to the area, police said.
Around 3 a.m., the officer was driving east on Lugonia responding to call for a man with a gun when he lost control and sheared off the pole, officials said.
The crash prompted the closure of Lugonia, between Church and Berkeley Drive.
Paramedics took the officer to the hospital with broken bones and other major injuries.
Dozens of homes and businesses were temporarily left without power, according to the Southern California Edison Outage Map. Southern California Edison crews worked to make repairs and restore power.
The unidentified officer was in good spirits and doing well on Friday morning, said Carl Baker, spokesman for the Redlands Police Department.
Baker said Redlands Police Department Chief Chris Catren met with the officer at the hospital.
“He was on his way to an emergency call, but was not driving with the lights and siren on,” Baker said. “He hit the curb of a center divider, lost control of the vehicle and struck the power pole.”
Baker did not say what led to the crash.
