A Long Beach police officer was seriously injured early Monday when his marked patrol unit was struck by a car that ran a red light, officials said.
The accident occurred at the intersection of Broadway and Edwards Boulevard at 12:30 a.m., Long Beach police said.
Police did not release the identity of the officer, other than he is in his 20s and previously was with the NYPD. The identity of the other driver also was not released.
After the crash the officer was transported by Long Beach Fire Department ambulance to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow with what police described as broken legs, knee caps and hands. A police spokesman said the officer was "lucky to be alive" and said air bags in the vehicle, a big SUV, helped prevent more serious injuries.
Police said the officer was headed west on Broadway, responding to a disturbance call on Grand Boulevard, when the other vehicle, a Mercedes sedan, ran the red light.
The Mercedes had at least four occupants. None were seriously injured, police said.
Police said the Mercedes occupants had left a party at the nearby Allegria Hotel and had made a left onto Edwards with the light, but then failed to stop at the second light at westbound Broadway. Broadway is a divided road with a center island and a separate signal for traffic in the center section of the divided intersection.
Police said Nassau County police were called in to conduct a sobriety test on the Mercedes driver, who was found not to be impaired. The driver was issued a summons for running a red light and released.
Pictures of the police vehicle show the entire left front end destroyed by the impact, which also tore the left front tire and wheel from the vehicle.
Copyright 2014 Newsday
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
