Three Charlotte Mecklenburg Police are recovering from injuries after two accidents occurred in the same location involving drunk drivers Saturday night.
In the first accident, two officers were injured around 11:30 p.m. while investigating an accident on Independence Boulevard at Eastway Drive when a man hit a patrol car, and then crashed into a second patrol car. Both patrol cars had lights flashing.
At the time the cars were struck, the officers were standing in the road and were hit by one of the patrol cars.
Both officers were transported to Carolinas Medical Center with serious leg injuries. One of the officers was released Sunday, while the other was stable that evening.
The man who struck the officers was charged with DWI, felony serious injury by vehicle, open container, and reckless driving, among other charges.
As more officers came to investigate the scene, around 2:30 a.m. another drunk driver hit a CMPD patrol car and a second car, both of which also had lights flashing.
An officer sitting in one of the patrol cars was knocked unconscious upon impact. An officer in the second car was uninjured.
Police arrested the second offender and charged him with DWI and felony serious injury by vehicle.
The officer that was knocked unconscious was kept at CMC Sunday afternoon for observation and was in stable condition by that evening.
Recent studies in 2010 reveal that traffic accidents accounted for 73 out of every 160 police deaths in the United States that year. It’s no mystery that officers put themselves in danger every day while on duty to serve and protect our nation’s citizen’s and communities. Motorists should always be alert for emergency personnel and vehicles on, around, and near the road. If you have been involved in an accident involving an emergency vehicle or otherwise, you need an attorney on your side to protect your rights. Call the trusted Accident Attorneys of Reeves, Aiken, and Hightower at 704-499-9000 or 877-374-5999 toll-free.