Officer, Driver Hurt When Truck Hits Patrol Car Police Say Driver May Have Been Drinking Before Violent Collision

A speeding driver who police believe was drunk slammed into a patrol car Thursday evening in north Spokane, leaving himself and the officer hospitalized.

The accident happened about 6:50 p.m. at the intersection of Post Street and York Avenue just north of the Spokane Arena, police said.

The officer, who police would not identify, had just finished responding to a call for service and was driving northbound on Post.

A man driving a pickup eastbound on York ran a stop sign and slammed into the driver’s side of the patrol car at a high rate of speed, police Sgt. Anthony Giannetto said.

The force from the impact caused the pickup to roll several times and the man to be partially ejected, Giannetto said.

The man, whose name was not released, was rushed to a hospital. His condition was unavailable late Thursday.

The patrol car was launched into the front yard of a home in the 2500 block of North Post and came to rest between two trees. The officer momentarily lost consciousness, Giannetto said. She was hospitalized with unknown injuries.

Giannetto said the officer was on routine patrol and was not responding to a call when the accident happened.

Investigators at the scene found beer cans around the pickup.

“There was alcohol on his breath,” Giannetto said. An investigation into the collision continues.