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PHOENIX, Ariz. -- An officer en route to an officer-involved shooting scene crashes and was pinned in the wreckage of his patrol car, police said.
David Daniels suffered head and lower abdomen trauma, police said.
"The officer was coming southbound with his sirens and lights on and the tow truck just smashed right into him," said David Peters, who saw the accident unfold near Dysart Road and Grand Avenue.
Peters and several other motorists rushed to help the injured officer.
"We all tried to pull him out of the car, it was just unbelievable," Peters said.
Police said Daniels was southbound on North Dysart Road with his lights and siren operating when he was struck by a tow truck traveling on West Grand Avenue.
The driver of the truck, Michael Ryder, 50, of Phoenix, was not injured.
Daniels was flown to a local hospital for treatment. The investigation is on-going and no citations have been issued.
The officer was on his way to a domestic violence call where two other Surprise police officers were met by a man with a gun.
Police said Dwayne Lebaron Darrington, 35, pointed a handgun at the officers.
"I heard a very loud rapid succession of gunfire, almost as fast as a machine gun," said James Ward, a neighbor.
"The male subject was struck several times by officer's bullets, and none of the officers was hurt," said Sgt. Mark Ortega with the Surprise Police Department.
None of the officers on scene was injured. Darrington was transported to John C. Lincoln Hospital where he died while in surgery, police said.
Republished with permission of KPHO-TV.
