LAPD Cruiser Smashes Into Innocent Toyota While Rushing To Call

• LAPD officers responding to a call raced down a four-lane street only to hit an innocent motorist.
• Both officers in the patrol car and the driver of the other car went to the hospital after the crash.
• The innocent motorist is now in critical condition.

Accountability is key for everyone on the road and that includes law enforcement. Dashcam and bodycam footage makes holding authorities accountable all the easier. Now, new footage from a crash involving a speeding LAPD officer has several questioning what discipline might get handed out.

The accident happened at the corner of Adams Boulevard and Gramercy Place just before 6 p.m. on June 23. Police were racing to get to a call involving the local fire department and a man wielding a broken bottle as a weapon. While video from inside the patrol vehicle doesn’t provide a GPS-indicated speed, it’s clear that the SUV is traveling much faster than all adjacent traffic.

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The officers are also using their sirens but for whatever reason, the driver of the patrol car uses the oncoming lanes rather than the open right lane to attempt passing a Toyota in the left lane. As the SUV approaches the Toyota, its driver slows and turns left, seemingly unaware of the LAPD cruiser. At such a high speed, the officer has no time to maneuver around the Toyota and instead hits it directly in the driver’s side door.

The sedan spins clockwise and rolls into traffic on the other side of the road. The police SUV rolls forward and into a parked car. Bodycam footage shows that both officers exit the vehicle and attempt to assist the Toyota driver who is clearly unconscious. LAPD Capt. Kelly Muniz spoke to NBC Los Angeles and confirmed that the driver is expected to survive despite being put into a medically induced coma upon arrival at the hospital.

A post about the situation on Reddit has garnered several comments including those purportedly from EMS drivers. “I’ve driven emergency vehicles for most of my life as a firefighter and paramedic. I cannot BELIEVE the reckless abandonment police regularly engage in driving to scenes, that was unsafe operation no matter what. It’s absurd. PD is at fault, 100%. Utterly reckless,” says one.

“Working in EMS, you don’t get there much faster if you’re speeding, you’ll save maybe 3 minutes. Now if you blow a red light or drive like this, not only are you not going to show up to the scene, you are going to cause so much more manpower needed for the original call and now this new one. Super stupid to drive like this. Hope the victim gets paid big time and doesn’t have permanent injuries,” said another.

Regardless of whatever discipline may or may not come here’s hoping that everyone has a full recovery. 

Image Credit: Police Activity