Orlando Police Officer Struck by Fleeing Stolen Truck

April 1, 2014

An police officer was hit but not hurt late Monday by a stolen truck that fled during a traffic stop.

An Orlando police officer was hit but not hurt late Monday by a stolen truck that fled during a traffic stop, authorities said.

Officers early Tuesday were questioning Kenneth Richardson, 58, the driver of the black Ford Ranger pickup that police say had been reported stolen.

Officers pulled over the truck at a liquor store on Orange Avenue just south of Michigan Street about 9:45 p.m. and removed Richardson from the car, police Lt. Douglas Goerke said. He had two passengers.

The front-seat passenger slid into the driver's seat, then backed up into a police car as an officer tried to get him out of the truck, Goerke said. The truck then pulled forward, sideswiping the officer and knocking him down.

He was not hurt.

The truck hit two more vehicles in the ABC Fine Wine & Spirits parking lot before speeding off, Goerke said.

It crashed into a car at Kaley Avenue and Westmoreland Drive and was found abandoned a couple of blocks away in the 1000 block of 19th Street.

Police were searching for the man who was driving.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service