A driver’s dash cam video captured the moment a police car spun out of control after a violent crash Wednesday in California.
The incident happened at approximately 12:18 p.m. local time in Santa Clarita, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) told the Daily Caller. The officer involved was responding to a “burglary-in-progress.”
Sheriff’s officials said that as the deputy was turning at an intersection, a gold Lexus driven by an elderly person collided with him, Fox 11 reported. The officer’s vehicle then flipped over multiple times before apparently striking a silver SUV.
The police cruiser’s lights and sirens were active, the LASD told the Daily Caller. The video appears to confirm that the lights were on.
In the dash cam footage obtained by Eyewitness News, a vehicle appears to drive through the intersection, slamming into the police cruiser. The deputy’s car then appeared to flip over several times before coming to a stop and landing upright.
People in the cars on the other side of traffic appeared to rush to the deputy’s aid. Multiple people gathered around the vehicle, pulling the door open to check on the deputy inside.
CAUGHT ON VIDEO: A driver’s dashboard camera captured a violent rollover crash in Santa Clarita that injured an L.A. County sheriff’s deputy. https://t.co/u54yzhbuXL pic.twitter.com/Ybyu8yNG3G
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) May 30, 2024
The person in the car involved in the initial crash suffered a minor injury, ABC 7 reported. The person in the second vehicle the deputy’s cruiser struck reportedly refused medical services. The deputy and two additional people were taken to the hospital for “minor injuries,” the LASD told the Daily Caller
The crash remains under investigation, the LASD added. (RELATED: Video Shows T-Bone Crash That Killed Pedestrian Crossing Road, Police Say).
“[It] just happened so fast. It’s like something you see in the movies,” Allen Rapisura, whose dashcam caught the crash, told Fox 11.
“I think it speaks volumes that Santa Clarita, the community loves the cops here,” LASD Sgt. Sherry Clark told the outlet. “It looked horrific, and we’re all just so surprised and very happy that [the deputy] walked away basically unscathed.”
The LASD reiterated their appreciation for the support to the Daily Caller.
The deputy and the silver SUV’s driver, who was also hurt, have since been released from the hospital, Fox 11 reported. Officials told the outlet that the driver of the Lexus was unscathed.
