NYPD Officer Pinned Between Two Vehicles During Traffic Stop
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An NYPD officer ended up pinned between two cars during a traffic stop on the Lower East Side on Tuesday.
It happened on East Houston Street between Pitt Street and Columbia Street just before 8 p.m.
As of 11 p.m., one eastbound lane of East Houston was still closed as officers wrapped up their investigation, CBS2's Valerie Castro reports.
The injured officer was actually hit by his own vehicle when a van crashed into it during a traffic stop.
"I just so happened to look up and I saw basically a van traveling real fast, like real close to the cop car, so I just moved out the way and it just smacked us because we were standing between the cop car and my car," said a witness who only wanted to be identified as Ali.
Ali says he was pulled over by an officer for a light that was out on his vehicle when an out-of-control van hit the officer's parked unmarked car from the back.
The officer was standing in front of his own car and was pinned up against Ali's after the collision.
Another witness says he saw the crash and watched as the mini-van took off.
"It was kind of crazy, man, 'cause, you know, he hit, the guy backed up and he just ran. I was like, wow. I told my sister, hey, listen, help him out so my sister helped out the other officer until the paramedic showed up," witness Jose Castro said.
The officer was put into an ambulance and escorted to Bellevue Hospital.
The suspect's mini-van was later found with extensive front-end damage a few blocks away. The suspect was taken into custody.
CBS2 has been told the officer has a fractured leg but is otherwise expected to be OK. Charges are still pending for the driver of the mini-van.