Four Highway Patrol Officers Hurt in Three Accidents

Four California Highway Patrol officers were injured in three separate accidents within a 10-hour period on Orange County freeways over the weekend, authorities said.

Motorcycle Officer William Jacquez was listed in fair condition Sunday after he was struck by a car while walking to assist another patrolman stopped along the San Diego Freeway Saturday night, authorities said.

Jacquez had gotten off his motorcycle on the Beach Boulevard collector road, a combination on-ramp and off-ramp that parallels the freeway’s northbound lanes, and was walking toward another patrolman at the scene of a non-injury accident about 9 p.m., said CHP dispatcher Donetta Walker.

‘Failed to Notice Station Wagon’

Jacquez “failed to notice a station wagon” exiting on the road and stepped into its path, Walker said.

The impact threw Jacquez 34 feet and rendered him unconscious, the dispatcher said.

Jacquez, 40, was transported to Fountain Valley Community Hospital’s trauma center, where X-rays showed he suffered no broken bones. The officer sustained torn ligaments to his knee and a possible concussion, authorities said.

The name of the driver was not released, and it appears the driver will not be cited, the CHP spokeswoman said.

About an hour earlier, Officer Ricardo Lozano was waiting in his patrol car on the westbound 91 Freeway off-ramp at Valley View Street when a Volkswagen rear-ended a Toyota, which in turn hit Lozano’s car, CHP dispatcher Joseph David said.

Six in Toyota Hospitalized

Lozano was not hospitalized for a minor neck injury, but six occupants of the Toyota complained of pain and were transported to La Palma Community Hospital for treatment.

The driver of the car that struck the Toyota, identified by police only as R. Holm, was booked at Orange County Jail on a charge of drunk driving involving an injury, David said.

About 6:30 a.m. Sunday, two CHP squad cars responding to a report of a wrong-way driver on the 91 Freeway collided on Tustin Avenue near Santa Clara Avenue, sending both patrol cars out of control and crashing into a concrete divider at the westbound on-ramp of the Garden Grove Freeway, David said.

Both Cars Towed Away

David said that Officer Christopher Wright was in the left lane attempting to pass Officer William Remington, who was on his right, when Remington made a left turn in front of Wright’s car. Both officers complained of pain and were treated and released at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, he said.

Both patrol cars received major damage and were towed away, David said.