Officer Released From Hospital After Being Struck By Suspected DUI Driver

UPDATED: Monday, 4:39 p.m.:

The Falls Township patrolman injured when he was struck in a multi-vehicle crash during a Sunday night traffic stop has been released from the hospital.

Officer Thomas Lundquist suffered an injuries to his right wrist and ankle, but no broken bones as initially believed, Lt. Todd Pletnick told LevittownNow.com.

The 28-year-old male driver of the striking vehicle, who was likely intoxicated at the time, remained in Capitol Heath System’s Hospital in Trenton in serious condition, police said.

Original Story:

A peril of police work was proven late Sunday night when a driver slammed into a patrol car that had pulled over a speeding driver.

A Falls Township officer was knocked to the ground and miraculously avoided life-threatening injuries when a dark-colored sedan slammed into the rear of his car on northbound Route 1 just past the Route 13 on-ramp around 10:45 p.m.

The driver of the striking vehicle, who was possibly intoxicated, suffered serious injuries when his head slammed through the windshield of his car, police said. He was rushed to Capitol Health’s Trenton trauma center to be treated.

Four people in the gray car that was pulled over initially by the officer were taken to the hospital for minor injuries, police said.

The Falls patrolman had pulled the gray car over after he clocked it going at 90 mph. He pulled his car to block the shoulder and right lane of the highway during the traffic stop, Ward said, adding, “he did the right thing and followed training.”

As the veteran officer was outside his vehicle, the collision happened and he was thrown into a small triangular area between all three vehicles. Officials at the scene said the officer suffered several broken bones and was taken to Aria Health’s Bucks County campus in Falls.

“This is our worst nightmare,” Ward said, standing just feet away from the mangled unmarked patrol car.

The accident scene was strewn with glass, pieces of the vehicles involved and puddles of blood from the driver of the striking vehicle.

Ward said the driver of the striking vehicle, believed to be a Trenton resident, was likely intoxicated. He told LevittownNow.com he was not sure whether the driver was intoxicated on alcohol or drugs.

The officer who was injured usually rides with a K-9 dog but was not Sunday due to a mechanical issue with his specially-outfitted SUV. The dog was kenneled at home and almost certainly would have been killed if he was in the car at the time of the wreck, the lieutenant said.

Aside from the unmarked patrol unit being damaged, the shotgun, rifle and computer system in the car will likely have to be trashed.

Ward said the loss of the car will impact the department that is already running short on patrol vehicles.

Sunday’s crash happened a few miles down the highway from where Middletown patrolman Christopher Jones was struck and killed while performing a traffic stop in 2009. Jones was promoted to the rank of detective following his death and a portion of Route 1 was renamed in his honor.

Fire police closed Route 1 between the Route 13 on-ramp and the Route 32 off-ramp for several hours Sunday night and into early Monday morning.

A video posted by Tom Sofield (@tomsofield) on Mar 29, 2015 at 9:46pm PDT