Fort Worth Officer Seriously Hurt In Crash
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - A police officer in Fort Worth was seriously hurt on Tuesday night in a crash near downtown. The incident happened shortly after 10:00 p.m. along Interstate-30 near Henderson Street.
The Fort Worth Police Department said that the officer was outside of his vehicle when he was struck by another vehicle.
The officer was taken to Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth in serious, but stable condition. Matt Zavadsky, a spokesman for MedStar EMS, said that the patient had a broken right femur, several cracked vertabrae, head trauma and other injuries. He required about 80 stitches to his leg and wrist. At last check, the officer was still in a lot of pain.
Sources said that the officer was hit so hard that he broke the windshield of the car that struck him, got thrown into the air and tumbled head over heels on the concrete, where he was knocked unconscious.
The name of the 37-year-old officer has not been released for "safety reasons" due to his line of work. However, police have said that he is married with a 7-year-old son, and he is a military veteran.
"When he was transported, he was alert and talkative," said Cpl. Tracey Knight with the Fort Worth Police Department. "Right now, he is sedated for pain. He's got a lot of injuries."
At a news conference held early Wednesday morning, police stated that the 13-year veteran was responding to a call about furniture debris on the highway. When the officer arrived, he found a couch in the road, and had started putting down traffic cones and flares to warn other drivers.
A man, woman and small child were inside of the white car that struck the officer. They did stop to help, police said. According to investigators, the family was so upset that a clergyman was called in to calm them down. No charges are planned at this point, however, authorities are reviewing the squad car's dashboard camera video.
"It appears to have been an accident," said Knight. "Our traffic investigation unit is going to do an investigation, but the family stopped. They were very distraught that they hit anyone, much less an officer."
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