Calif. Deputy Critical Following Cruiser Crash
A guardrail impaled the vehicle, leaving the Kern County deputy with life-threatening injuries.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. --
A Kern County deputy is clinging to life after crashing his patrol car early Thursday. But how the crash happened is still a bit of a mystery.
It happened just before 1 a.m. Thursday on Seventh Standard Road just west of the 99. A 13-year veteran of the sheriff's office hit a guardrail.
The metal portion impaled the patrol car leaving the deputy with life-threatening injuries. The California Highway Patrol is handling the investigation.
They say Deputy Allan Heathcott crashed into the center divider about 12:40 a.m. Investigators say there were no other cars or people involved.
"We don?t know exactly where deputy Heathcott was going or where he was coming from," said California Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Robert Rodriguez.
The CHP says the 52-year-old was on duty at the time of the crash, but he was not responding to a call. What caused deputy Heathcott to hit the guardrail is still unclear, but there are no skid marks at the scene.
"The airbags did deploy, but unfortunately because of the impact of the collision, he did still receive major injuries," Rodriguez said.
The metal portion of the guard rail impaled the patrol car and pierced the passenger cabin.
"Yes it did enter the passenger cabin and that of course made it a little more difficult to extricate deputy Heathcott out of the vehicle," Rodriguez said.
It took fire crews about an hour and a half to cut Heathcott out of the car with the Jaws of Life. Officers say Heathcott suffered major head trauma and was rushed to KMC.
Officer Rodriguez says it?s always emotionally harder for the officers on scene when they are dealing with one of their own.
"It?s extremely difficult because they are our fellow law enforcement brethren ... We are all a large family," Rodriguez said.
The Highway Patrol says it could take a week to 10 days to figure out what caused the crash.
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