BPD: Three injured in squad car wrong-way crash in downtown Boise

The Boise Police have sent out a news release about this morning’s crash of a patrol car into an SUV in downtown Boise, while the squad car was traveling to an emergency call going the wrong way on 13 ^th Street, smashing into the SUV as it crossed 13 ^th on Idaho Street. Both the officer and the two occupants of the SUV were taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation of injuries, the BPD reports, and all three were treated and released.

“The officer was traveling south on a north-bound one-way street, which is something normally reserved for emergency responses,” said Boise Deputy Chief William Bones. “Investigators do believe the officer was responding with his lights and siren to an urgent call for help from another officer. However, the officer’s response and all the circumstances surrounding this crash will be part of the investigation being led by Garden City. Our first focus is for the safety of our community and officers.”

The call came from another officer at 13 ^th and Myrtle streets, who radioed that he was involved in an “altercation with other individuals and was in need of officer assistance,” the BPD news release says. “A call from an officer for urgent help usually is ‘Code 3’ response, meaning officers respond with lights and siren in an emergency fashion.” You can read the Police Department’s full release here ; it says the Garden City Police Department is investigating the crash, and Boise Police crash reconstruction experts are conducting a parallel investigation. The BPD Office of Internal Affairs also is investigating “to determine if policies, training and procedure were followed by the involved officer.”