HOUSTON – Two Houston police officers are recovering after their patrol car was hit in southeast Houston Sunday, investigators said.
Police said the multi-vehicle crash happened just before midnight and caused parts of I-45 to shut down.
Investigators said there was a minor crash in the 7800 block of the Gulf Freeway and the two officers responded by shutting down the left two lanes. While they had those lanes blocked with their emergency lights on, a car that police said was speeding hit the back of the patrol car with the two officers inside. Investigators said the car began to spin out into the middle of the freeway, where it was hit by a second vehicle.
According to investigators, the officers were sent to Memorial Hermann Hospital and two other drivers were sent to the hospital.
We did call out our drug division expert, who will be conducting an investigation to determine if the driver was intoxicated or not,” Houston Police Department Assistant Chief Bashir said.
One officer is expected to be released Monday and the other will probably be released later Monday morning, investigators said.
“We are truly blessed that the officers are doing well and I pray that they have a healthy and fast recovery. They are shaken up, so would anybody else with this type of crash,” Assistant Chief Bashir said.