Beverly Police Chief John LeLacheur said the police officer injured in a car crash on Tuesday afternoon was conscious while firefighters cut him from his cruiser with the Jaws of Life.
The driver of the other vehicle in the crash, a woman driving a white Honda Acord, was also injured and taken to Beverly Hospital by ambulance. The injuries to both driver's are not considered to be life-threatening, he said.
The chief made his comments to reporters at the crash scene before heading to the hospital to check on the officer's condition. The identity of the officer is known by Beverly Patch but it is being withheld until his family is notified about the crash.
The crash, at about 2:30 p.m. at the intersection of Elliott and Rantoul streets, closed a portion if Rantoul Street for about an hour.
The cruiser was headed south on Rantoul Street to an alarm call, with its lights and sirens on, LeLacheur said. It stopped at the traffic lights at Elliott Street and the proceeded when it was struck in the passenger side by the Honda. Traffic had stopped in one lane and the Honda allegedly went straight from the right-turn lane, he said.
The spinning cruiser struck a third vehicle, which was stopped at a red light headed north on Rantoul Street. That vehicle was not significantly damaged and nobody in it was hurt, the chief said.
The crash remains under investigation and it is too early to say whether charges will be filed, LeLacheur said.
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