S.D. officer seriously hurt in collision with alleged drunk driver

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An on-duty San Diego police officer was seriously injured early Sunday in a traffic collision with a suspected drunk driver, authorities said.

The officer’s vehicle, a marked patrol car, was hit by a pickup truck at the intersection of Mission Gorge Road and Route 125 in the city of Santee at 2:28 a.m., according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

The collision pushed both vehicles off the road. The police vehicle was struck on the driver’s-side door by the pickup truck, which was being driven ‘at a high rate of speed,’ according to the Sheriff’s Department.

Fire Department personnel were forced to use cutting equipment to pry open the car and rescue the officer, who was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital, authorities said.

The driver of the pickup truck, who was not seriously injured, was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving involving an injury, authorities said. He was booked into county jail.

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