CHP Officer Hurt as Patrol Car Is Struck
A California Highway Patrol officer was injured Sunday when her patrol car, which was parked on the southbound shoulder of the Orange Freeway south of Chapman Avenue, was rear-ended by a suspected drunk driver traveling about 55 m.p.h.
Officer Cynthia Koolis, 26, had finished issuing a citation and had just gotten into her vehicle when it was struck by a car driven by Rodolfo Martinez, 37, of Fullerton, according to CHP spokeswoman Angel Johnson.
Koolis was taken to Placentia Linda Community Hospital in Placentia, where she was treated for a mild concussion and neck and back pain, Johnson said.
“She had just gotten in her car and was reaching down for the seat belt when she was struck,” Johnson said. “She really didn’t know what hit her.”
The impact destroyed both vehicles, Johnson said.
Martinez was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he was being treated for a broken clavicle and bruised shoulder.
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