The Region - News from June 9, 1986

A policeman standing in front of his patrol car and writing a traffic ticket was injured when a suspected drunk driver rear-ended his police cruiser, pinning him between two vehicles. Officer Richard Yukihiro, a 16-year veteran, was in serious condition at County-USC Medical Center with compound fractures of both legs. Yukihiro and his partner, Officer John Smith, had stopped a driver for a traffic violation on Manchester Boulevard near Broadway. The two officers were standing with the driver, Leonardo Telles, 20, between his vehicle and the squad car when a third car, driven by Ramon Flores, 23, of South Gate, crashed into the patrol car, pushing it forward toward the men. Smith and Telles, who jumped out of the way, sustained only minor injuries, but Yukihiro was wedged between the two cars. Flores was booked on suspicion of felony drunk driving.