LOS ANGELES, CA – Two Los Angeles Police Department officers were hospitalized Saturday morning after a patrol SUV and another car collided at the end of a pursuit of a reckless driver in South Los Angeles, authorities said.
The crash happened around 9:12 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, near the intersection of West 54th Street and South Vermont Avenue. Police said both officers suffered minor injuries and were taken to a local hospital.
As of about 10:15 a.m., no arrests had been reported in connection with the pursuit. The cause of the collision is under investigation.
Pursuit ends at a South Los Angeles intersection
According to the LAPD, officers were pursuing a reckless driver when a patrol vehicle and another car collided. The department described the driver being pursued only as reckless in the information available Saturday.
The intersection of 54th Street and Vermont Avenue sits in South Los Angeles, along a commercial corridor where Vermont Avenue runs north and south. Southwest Division is among the LAPD units listed as involved in the response.
The Los Angeles Fire Department was also part of the response. According to initial reports, two ambulances were sent to assist the officers.
Officers taken to a local hospital
Police said both officers had minor injuries. They were taken to a hospital in the area, and the department had not said which one.
The LAPD had not released the names of the officers, their division or their current condition. Officials also had not said how long either officer would be away from duty.
Patrol SUV heavily damaged
The front end of the LAPD patrol SUV was heavily damaged in the collision. Debris was scattered across the intersection after the crash.
Investigators examined the vehicles at the scene, according to initial reports, and the intersection was secured while they worked. The department had not said when the roadway fully reopened to traffic.
Other vehicle and its occupants
Officials were still checking whether anyone in the other vehicle needed to be taken to a hospital. The LAPD had not released the identity of the other driver or said whether that driver was the person officers had been pursuing.
Police have not announced what crime or violation led officers to begin the pursuit. The investigation will have to establish how the patrol SUV and the other car came to collide.
How the LAPD reviews pursuits
The LAPD publishes a newsroom page of facts on its vehicle pursuits. The department also operates a Pursuit Review Unit within its Training Division, which reviews vehicle pursuit reports generated across the department.
The department’s rules for pursuits are part of the LAPD Manual, which the department publishes online. According to listings for the manual, its Volume IV covers vehicle pursuit policy, including sections on controlling a pursuit, continuing or terminating it and driving tactics during a pursuit.
The LAPD had not said whether the pursuit that ended at 54th Street and Vermont Avenue would go through that review. It had also not said whether the pursuit was continued or terminated before the collision.
Investigation remains active
The LAPD had not issued a news release on the crash as of Sunday, Oct. 18. Officials had not announced an arrest, and no statements from city leaders about the collision had been made public.
Anyone with information about the pursuit or the crash is asked to contact the Los Angeles Police Department’s Southwest Division. The investigation remains active, and the department has not announced when it expects to release further details.
