CHP officer rescued after driver slams into patrol car in Garden Grove, trapping him
An officer with the California Highway Patrol was taken to the hospital Sunday night after a driver slammed into the rear of his vehicle on the westbound 22 Freeway in Garden Grove, trapping him inside.
Calls about the incident came in at around 8:45 p.m., according to Captain Jose Perez with the Orange County Fire Authority.
The officer had pulled over on the freeway to help a vehicle that was experiencing mechanical problems when the driver of a Chevy Tahoe rear-ended his patrol car and also struck the other vehicle, a white Porsche Cayenne, ONSCENE.TV reported.
“When we arrived on scene, we had one officer stuck in his car. He had to be extricated with the jaws of life by our truck company,” Captain Perez said. “We had two other victims in a small SUV.”
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Wreckage of a CHP patrol officer’s car after being rear-ended by a Chevy Tahoe on the WB 22 Freeway Dec. 4, 2022 (ONSCENE.TV) -
Wreckage of a CHP patrol officer’s car after being rear-ended by a Chevy Tahoe on the WB 22 Freeway Dec. 4, 2022 (ONSCENE.TV) -
Wreckage of a CHP patrol officer’s car after being rear-ended by a Chevy Tahoe on the WB 22 Freeway Dec. 4, 2022 (ONSCENE.TV) -
CHP officer seen being loaded into the back of an ambulance in Garden Grove on Dec. 4, 2022 (ONSCENE.TV) -
Wreckage of a Chevy Tahoe and Porsche Cayenne seen after the Dec. 4, 2022 incident in Garden Grove (ONSCENE.TV)
The officer was taken to the University of California, Irvine Medical Center with unknown injuries. It is unknown if the other two victims were also transported to the hospital.
All lanes of the 22 Freeway in Garden Grove were shut down for about an hour while authorities investigated and cleared the roadway.
It is unclear if the driver of the Tahoe was detained or whether drugs and alcohol were a factor in the collision.