An Orlando police officer survived a Friday night collision with a tractor-trailer that crumpled his police cruiser and left him trapped inside.
The crash happened about 9 p.m. on North Orange Blossom Trail, just north of Lee Road. Emergency workers extracted the officer from the car and transported him to Orlando Regional Medical Center.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, he was reported to be stable, alert and talking. The names of the officer and truck driver were not released late Friday.
FHP Sgt. Frederick Hall said the officer was travelling north on OBT at the time of the crash, responding to a call. The tractor-trailer pulled onto the roadway, trying to turn left and head south.
When it collided with the trailer, the patrol car "crossed underneath the tractor trailer, and came out the other side," Hall said.
The cruiser rotated and came to rest on the southbound side of the roadway, facing south.
The crash shut down a section of Orange Blossom Trail for about two hours while troopers investigated. The wreck was cleared from the roadway just before 11 p.m.
Bob Malotte was inside the nearby Loyal Order of Moose lodge when he heard the crash. Malotte, governor of the lodge, rushed out in time to watch as emergency workers cut the roof off of the officer's car.
"He seemed to be conscious, when they got him out," Malotte said.
Hall said troopers were still working to determine who was at fault in the crash. However, he said it's typically the responsibility of the vehicle entering the roadway -- in this case, the tractor-trailer -- to yield to traffic already on the roadway.
Troopers had not yet determined late Friday if the officer's lights or siren were on at the time of the crash.
Asked how the officer was able to emerge from the horrific crash in one piece, Hall stressed the importance of defensive driving, regardless of right-of-way.
"In this case the OPD officer took the action that I'm sure I would have taken, which is attempt to slow my vehicle and swerve to avoid it," Hall said.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
