By David Levinsky
Burlington County Times
BEVERLY, N.J. — A city police officer was injured yesterday when a suspect fleeing another officer crashed into his vehicle.
Officer Shawn Mickle, 38, suffered two broken knees and cuts to his face and neck in the 1:30 a.m. accident at the intersection of Pine and Chestnut streets in Beverly, said Joel Bewley, spokesman for the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.
Mickle, a three-year veteran of the city force, was flown to Cooper University Hospital in Camden. He was listed in serious but stable condition, Bewley said.
The identity of the driver of the car that struck Mickle’s SUV was not released due to an ongoing investigation.
Bewley said the driver was fleeing from an Edgewater Park officer who had pulled him over in Edgewater Park for making an illegal turn. The driver pulled away after stopping and was then pursued into Beverly, where his car collided with Mickle’s police vehicle.
The collision knocked the police vehicle onto its side and into a tree.
Bewley said the Edgewater Park officer had chased the car but had called off the pursuit moments before the accident. He said Mickle was aware the fleeing vehicle was entering Beverly, but was not in pursuit of the vehicle when the crash occurred.
The driver ran from the accident scene after the crash and is considered a fugitive. He was still at-large as of yesterday afternoon, Bewley said.
The car involved in the crash had been taken without the owner’s permission, Bewley said.
Once apprehended, the driver will face charges of eluding, theft, and leaving the scene of an accident, Bewley said.
Copyright 2008 The Burlington County Times