Pa. Officer Hospitalized With Minor Injuries After Crash
April 10--A Reading man was cited for driving without a license after his car collided with a city police cruiser while the officer headed to a shooting over the weekend.
The citation was issued to Jose A. Ortiz, 38, after another officer investigated the crash Saturday about 5 p.m. at Front and West Green streets, police said.
A city ambulance took Ortiz to Reading Hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries, officials said.
Officer Nathan Matz, 29, was evaluated by emergency medical personnel at the scene but declined to be taken to a hospital.
Police gave this account:
Matz was responding to a shooting in the 600 block of Gordon Street and was northbound on Front Street with his cruiser's lights and siren turned on. Ortiz was driving a car in the right lane when he tried to turn left onto West Green and was struck by the cruiser. Ortiz's car struck a utility pole. Both cars were severely damaged and were towed.
Matz was wearing a seat belt, but investigators were uncertain if Ortiz was wearing one.
Other officers responded to the shooting.
Investigators said Monday that a 32-year-old city man suffered gunshot wounds to the forearm and abdomen as he was getting out of his car in the 600 block of Gordon Street about 4:45 p.m.
The victim, whose name was withheld by police, said he was approached by a man holding a double-barrel shotgun. The man ran into an alley after the shooting.
The victim was taken to Reading Hospital. Information on his condition could not be obtained.
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