It seemed like a bad Burt Reynolds chase movie, but it was for real as four Los Angeles police officers sustained minor injuries Monday when their two black-and-white patrol cars crashed into each other in a South Los Angeles parking lot.
There was no immediate explanation for the crash, and neither car had its red lights or siren deployed. There was also no word of what action, if any, may be taken by the department against either of the drivers once an investigation is completed.
The crash was reported about 4:40 p.m. in a shopping center lot in the area of Vermont Avenue and 43rd Place, according to a sergeant at the Los Angeles Police Department’s South Traffic Division.
The injured officers were taken to a hospital and were expected to be OK, according to the sergeant, who declined to give her full name.
One vehicle was westbound and the other southbound when they collided, according to the sergeant, who said the crash sent a cruiser careening into a parked car.
The airbags in both cruisers deployed, she said.
The officers were all from the LAPD’s 77th Street Station, the sergeant said.
Two ambulances transported patients for hospital treatment, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
There were no reports of civilian injuries.
Neither police vehicle had its lights and siren deployed and it does not appear the officers were responding to a call when the crash occurred, the sergeant said.
–City News Service