L.A. motorcycle officer struck by car downtown

A Los Angeles police motorcycle officer was struck by a car in downtown Los Angeles this morning and injured, authorities said.

The accident occurred shortly before 8 a.m. when a 2002 Toyota Camry hit the officer at 5th Street and Stanford Avenue and then hit a pole, said LAPD Sgt. Gary Cantu, who was at the scene.

The Camry driver was heading south on Stanford Avenue when she collided with the motorcycle officer, who was traveling west on 5th Street, Cantu said. It was not immediately clear who was at fault, he said.

Because the motorcycle and car spun out only a short distance, Sgt. Jay Nunez said, both the officer and driver were probably within the 35-mph speed limit.

A witness who called police said the Camry driver rolled through the stop sign at the intersection.

“She had enough time to see him coming,” said Tanya Carey, an employee at the Salvation Army at 5th and Stanford. “He had no time to move.”

There is no stop sign for 5th Street traffic at the intersection. Carey said the officer had his lights on but the Camry driver “never looked his way.”

Carey stayed with the officer until police and paramedics arrived. She said he had been knocked out but regained consciousness about a minute later.

The officer suffered a contusion to his nose and was treated by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics and taken to a hospital, Nunez said.

The driver remained at the scene and was being questioned by officers. Nunez said the driver has reported no injuries.

The street corner is blocked off for the investigation this morning, said LAPD spokeswoman Sgt. Ruby Malachi.

 joanna.lin@latimes.com

Francisco Vara-Orta contributed to this report.