By Steve Lyttle
Charlotte Observer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer was seriously injured Wednesday morning when his police car wrecked on Fairview Road, a short distance east of SouthPark Mall.
Officer Joe Willinsky, who has been on the police force for about 13 months and works in the Providence Division, is in critical condition at Carolinas Medical Center, according to CMPD Officer Robert Fey, a spokesman for the department.
At 5:30 a.m., CMPD Major Harold Medlock told reporters that Willinsky was undergoing tests at the hospital.
Medlock and Chief Rodney Monroe were among a number of CMPD officials who rushed to the scene of the wreck, which caused the closure of outbound (east) lanes on Fairview Road for several hours. The wreck scene was near the Phillips Place shopping area, and Fairview Road was closed between Sharon Road and Cameron Valley Parkway until the lanes were reopened about 9:15 a.m.
The wreck happened after Willinsky had received a priority call at 3:36 a.m. about a possible burglary from a vehicle at the Strawberry Hill Apartments, on Providence Road.
Willinsky was eastbound on Fairview Road, a few hundred yards east of Sharon Lane, when he apparently lost control of his police cruiser, and it hit a ditch.
Fey said a passing motorist called 911 at 3:45 a.m., reporting that a police vehicle had crashed. The caller said the car had caught fire, and that the officer was lying next to the car, breathing but unconscious.
Streets were dry at the time, as rain didn’t begin until about 4:45 a.m. in the area.
“Officer Willinsky was ejected from the vehicle,” Medlock said.
Medlock said Chief Monroe and a number of other police officials visited the wreck scene initially, then went to the hospital, to join members of Willinsky’s family.
Copyright 2009 Charlotte Observer