Police Officer, 5 Others Injured In Traffic Stop Crash In Bucks County
FALLS TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) – A police officer and five others were injured late Sunday night after a three car crash in Falls Township, Bucks County.
It happened just before 11 p.m. on Route 1 near the Route 13 interchange.
Falls Township police say an officer pulled one vehicle over in a routine traffic stop after clocking the car at 90-miles an hour. As the officer was approaching that driver, a second vehicle crashed into the police cruiser, causing a chain reaction and sending the cruiser slamming into the stopped vehicle.
"The operator of the striking vehicle did appear to be impaired," said Police Lieutenant Henry Ward. "We are investigating this as a DUI accident at this time."
The officer, three passengers in the striking vehicle and the other driver were all taken to Aria Hospital Bucks County and all of their injuries appear to be non-life threatening.
The driver of the striking vehicle, however, suffered severe head and face trauma. He was taken to Helene Fuld Trauma Center in Trenton. He was later identified as 29-year-old Richard Morales of Trenton, NJ, and was listed in serious condition.
Lieutenant Ward called the stretch of road where the crash occurred one of the most dangerous of the superhighway.
"It's not uncommon in this area, when we're doing speed enforcements, that we clock vehicles at a hundred miles an hour plus, up on this area," he said. "We do believe speed was also a factor in this incident."
Ward said this kind of crash is an officer's worst nightmare. Sunday night's incident happened just a short distance from where Middletown Township Police officer Chris Jones was killed by a drunk driver in 2009.
Rt 1 northbound, south of Route 40, was shut down for several hours as a result of the crash.