By Troy Graham
Philadelphia Inquirer
PHILADELPHIA — Two Philadelphia officers badly injured Sunday morning in a suspected drunken-driving crash on Aramingo Avenue remained hospitalized yesterday, one of them in intensive care.
Those officers were among five hurt in three drunken-driving crashes Sunday, police said.
The two most seriously injured officers, Richard Hayes, 28, and George Higginson, 25, had pulled over a suspected drag racer Sunday morning in the 4200 block of Aramingo Avenue, police said.
They were searching the driver’s Chevrolet Prizm around 1:20 a.m. when an SUV plowed into the Prizm. Both officers were thrown on impact.
Hayes yesterday remained in critical condition with a head injury at Aria Health-Torresdale Campus, police said. Higginson was listed in stable condition at Hahnemann University Hospital.
The driver of the SUV, John Cusick, 20, of Bristol Township, was charged with driving under the influence, assault, and other counts.
The driver of the Prizm, Edwin Alizea, 30, of the 3500 block of Oakmont Street, was handcuffed in the back of the officers’ car when the crash occurred.
He then attempted to kick out the window and run away, police said. Alizea has been charged with driving under the influence, fleeing police, and criminal mischief.
Two more officers were hospitalized Sunday when an SUV slammed into their car in the 100 block of East Erie Avenue around 11:15 p.m.
The driver in that crash, Gilberto Rivera, 47, of Chester, was charged with driving under the influence, assault, resisting arrest, and other crimes.
The two 25th District officers, whose names were not released, were treated at Temple University Hospital and released. One officer needed stitches to her head, police said.
That crash happened within two blocks of the shared headquarters for the 24th and 25th Districts.
Officers Hayes and Higginson were assigned to the 24th District, which was also the home of Sgt. Timothy Simpson, who was killed in a car crash last year by a suspect fleeing police.
In the third crash Sunday, a vehicle struck a patrol car around 1:22 a.m. at 29th Street and Lehigh Avenue in North Philadelphia, police said.
The officer was treated for minor injuries at Temple University Hospital and released.
The vehicle’s driver, Angela Forrest, 30, of the 2800 block of North Taylor Street, was charged with driving under the influence, assault, and other offenses.
Copyright 2009 Philadelphia Inquirer