A man who police believe was drunk while driving his vehicle was involved in an accident recently, and the car that he hit was a squad car from the Colorado Springs Police Department. The officer who was in that squad car was not hurt, but it did make it easy for him to make the arrest.
The accident happened at the intersection where Damon Drive and Union Boulevard meet. Police say that it took place just before 2:30 a.m.
The officer had already pulled another driver over, and he had gotten out of his cruiser to talk to that driver. Before doing so, he turned on the emergency flashers. The reason that he was not hurt was that he had not yet gotten back into his car when it was struck.
The vehicle that hit the cruiser was a Ford van. Reports indicate that it was a 2002 model, but the exact model was not given.
The driver of that van was arrested in the wake of the crash. While he is said to be suspected of drunk driving, no charges have yet been filed, and the tests that were used to determine if he had been drinking were not reported. On top of that, the reports did not say if the van’s driver was injured.
People who are accused of drunk driving need to make sure that they know what rights they have after an arrest is made. There is a big difference between an arrest and a conviction, and suspected DUI drivers may have many choices to make, regardless of how they want to plead.
Source: 7 News Denver, “Springs Police: Suspected DUI driver slams into police cruiser” Wayne Harrison, Nov. 15, 2014
