4 people, including 2 Chicago police officers, hospitalized after car crash
CHICAGO (CBS) – Four people were hospitalized, including two Chicago police officers, after a car crash in East Garfield Park Tuesday evening.
As CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported, the two officers were in good condition at Mount Sinai Hospital Tuesday night. But the given the condition of their wrecked squad car, there was no doubt they were very fortunate to have walked away from the scene.
A marked Chicago Police vehicle was traveling west on Harrison Street and crossing California Avenue around 7:23 p.m. The scene is less than about half a mile from the Harrison (11th) District police station and Area 4 Headquarters, 3151 W. Harrison St.
The squad car struck a box truck that was headed east on Harrison Street, police said.
The officers were traveling to a different crash scene in the 2000 block of West Augusta Boulevard in Ukrainian Village at the time of the crash on Harrison Street. But they never made it – first hitting the box truck, then slamming into a parked car.
CBS 2 obtained exclusive video of t he crash. It shows the CPD vehicle and the box truck colliding, and the squad car then bouncing to the other side of the street and hitting the parked car.
The impact was serious and loud. It sent folks in the neighborhood rushing out, and they tried helping the officers – as did the two men riding in the box truck.
The driver of the box truck, a 34-year-old man, and a passenger, a 48-year-old man, were taken to Stroger Hospital of Cook County, both in good condition.
The exact cause of the accident and who was at fault remained under investigation late Tuesday.
