Officer Injured in Crash; 1 Arrested

A Santa Ana man was arrested Tuesday night on suspicion of felony hit-and-run after he allegedly crashed broadside into a Santa Ana police car, then ran from the scene, leaving the officer trapped, police said.

Eduardo Ramirez, 19, was being held at UCI Medical Center in Orange while doctors determined whether facial cuts reportedly suffered in the crash were serious enough that he should be held in the jail ward of the hospital, Santa Ana Police Lt. Hugh Mooney said.

Officer Donald Fox was admitted to an unidentified local hospital for observation of chest injuries. He was reported in stable condition, Mooney said.

Fox was headed west on McFadden Avenue in response to a report of a man with a gun when the Mazda that Ramirez was driving hit the patrol car broadside at the Mohawk Drive intersection at 5:43 p.m., Mooney said. Ramirez had continued past a stop sign on Mohawk, but it was not immediately known whether he stopped, Mooney said. Fox had not turned on lights or sirens on the patrol car, he said.

“This guy just drove right into him. He said he didn’t see him and he drove right into his door,” Mooney said.

Fox lost control of the patrol car, spun into a block wall and struck a telephone pole. It took firefighters 30 minutes to cut him out of the vehicle, Mooney said.

Ramirez and a passenger fled the accident on foot, but Ramirez was found when he called paramedics later for his injuries, Mooney said.

Officers who followed up on the original call did not make an arrest or recover a gun, Mooney said.