The Associated Press
TUCSON, Ariz. - A Tucson police officer was critically injured when a gasoline tanker smashed into his pickup on the city’s north side, authorities said.
Officer Jason Wilhelmsen, 26, had finished his overnight shift and was driving home about 3 a.m. Tuesday, said Sgt. Mark Robinson, a Tucson Police Department spokesman. Witnesses told investigators it appeared the driver of the semi-truck ran a red light before smashing into the driver’s side of Wilhelmsen’s Ford.
Tucson firefighters had to tear the officer’s truck apart to get him out of the wreckage. He was taken to University Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition late Tuesday.
The semi’s driver, Jesus Castillo, 45, of Glendale, was cited for failure to stop at a red light, Robinson said.
Wilhelmsen is a patrol officer who has worked for the Tucson Police Department since September 2005 and previously was a Pima County sheriff’s deputy.