An Amarillo, Texas police officer was critically injured in a head-on collision Tuesday morning.
Officer Justin Scherlen was involved in the wreck around 6:45 a.m. on Southwest 34th Avenue near the South Georgia Street intersection when a Jeep Wrangler struck his patrol car, according to The Amarillo Golbe-News.
The officer was headed west on 34th when the Jeep struck him going in the opposite direction after it crossed left of center into the officer's lane without its headlights on.
Firefighters used the Jaws of Life to extricate him from the vehicle and he was transported to Northwest Texas Hospital with life-threatening injuries to his legs, hips and back.
Officials told the newspaper that Scherlen was alert and talking when he was moved into the ambulance and was rushed into surgery.
"They said he is out of surgery and in the ICU, and he has a broken femur they were working on and a (broken) kneecap and a shattered pelvis," Cpl. Sean Slover told the newspaper. "He is not out of the woods yet, and it is the first of evidently several surgeries. The next 72 hours will tell them a lot. Everybody is rooting for him."
The driver of the Jeep refused treatment at the scene of the wreck.
The city of Amarillo is covering the officer’s medical expenses and the Amarillo Police Officers Association has established an account at Amarillo National Bank in Scherlen's name to help his family with travel, food and other costs.
Officer.com will provide more information on this story as it becomes available.
