Officer Pinned in Cruiser After Crash

A St. Petersburg Police officer was seriously hurt after midnight Saturday when his vehicle flipped over after striking a telephone pole and splitting it in two.

St. Petersburg Fire Rescue had to extricate the officer from the marked cruiser. He was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries.

According to St. Petersburg Police, the officer had been driving to the scene of a police hunt for a suspect when another vehicle pulled out in front of the cruiser.

The vehicle was pulling out from a private drive or a side street, off 54th Avenue South and 19th Way. The police officer swerved his vehicle to avoid a collision and hit the telephone pole.

The officer's name will not be released at this time, according to police.

The hunt for the suspect was called off when the accident occurred.

Police had been investigating a call about an auto theft at the Chevron gas station, at 1st Avenue South and 34th Street South. According to police, someone stole a white 2002 Cadillac Deville when it was left running and unattended.

An officer looking for the stolen Cadillac was driving in the area of 8th Avenue South and 43rd Street South when a silver Kia swerved into oncoming traffic and intentionally drove at the police officer, striking his vehicle, police said.

The Kia caused minor damage to the police officer's cruiser and fled the scene.
The officer was not injured.

Supervisors authorized a pursuit of the silver Kia since it had committed an
Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer, police said.  

Officers pursued the Kia, which was traveling south.

A police officer who was not involved in the pursuit was driving his marked patrol cruiser east on 54th Avenue South, when he swerved his vehicle to avoid a car that pulled out in front of him.

The police officers involved in the pursuit of the silver Kia terminated the
pursuit after the cruiser crash and the silver Kia has not been located at
this time.