Two LAPD officers were hospitalized Thursday morning — one in serious-to-critical condition and the other in stable condition — with injuries suffered in a multi-vehicle crash in South Los Angeles that left a motorist who allegedly ran a red light critically injured.
The Newton Division officers were responding to a backup call about 9:50 p.m. Wednesday when a tow truck driver allegedly ran a red light at the intersection of East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Main Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Video from the scene showed the LAPD SUV smashed against the rear passenger side of the tow truck, with a car and SUV also involved in the crash.
Officers tried to pry the driver’s side door of the police vehicle open until the arrival of Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics, who used the Jaws of Life to free the officer behind the wheel of the police vehicle who was trapped in the wreckage.
The officer was placed on a gurney and rushed to a waiting ambulance in serious-to-critical condition Thursday in a hospital, police said. The other officer was hospitalized in stable condition. Their names were not immediately released.
The driver of the tow truck was taken to a hospital in critical condition, police said. Five other people suffered minor injuries in the crash, according to the LAFD. The investigation into the crash was continuing.