By Patrick M. O’Connell
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — A St. Louis police officer was critically wounded in a car crash this afternoon, police said.
The officer is 23 years old and remains in “very critical” condition at St. Louis University Hospital. He was responding to a call with lights and sirens on when the accident happened about 12:45 p.m. at the intersection of South Broadway and Arsenal Street.
The doctors are evaluating the officer and working to stabilize the officer before determining how to proceed, a police spokeswoman said at 3:30 p.m. today.
Police have not released the name of the officer. He has been an officer since 2007 and works in District 3.
The officer was on duty in a marked patrol car when his car collided with a semi-truck. Details of exactly how it happened were unclear. The driver of the semi was not injured in the crash and is cooperating with police.
Lt. Col. Reggie Harris said the officer and the truck both were southbound on Broadway when the accident occurred. Accident reconstruction investigators are interviewing the truck driver and several witnesses to the crash.
Dozens of police officers, commanders and Mayor Francis Slay gathered at St. Louis University Hospital for updates on the officer’s condition.
“When an officer is injured, the police officers come together,” Harris said. “We want to be here to support him and to support his family and to support each other.”
Copyright 2009 St. Louis Post-Dispatch