Officer, 3 Others Hurt in 2-Car Crash

An LAPD officer and two teenage participants in a police at-risk youth program were injured when their vehicle was struck by a car driven by an elderly woman.

The Devonshire station detective had the most serious injury--a broken finger, a police spokesman said. The 14- and 16-year-old passengers he was taking home after a Wednesday night event complained of some pain, as did the 84-year-old woman who made a left turn into the police car at Reseda Boulevard and Lassen Street in front of a fire station, Officer Joe Buscaino said. Firefighters heard the crash and rushed to help.

The three people in the police car were treated at Northridge Hospital Medical Center and released. The woman was taken to Granada Hills Community Hospital and also released.

“The left-turn violation is probably the No. 1 violation in terms of causing collisions,” said Officer Kurt Smith of the Specialized Collision Investigation Detail, which is investigating the crash.

“Regardless of whether [the woman’s] age was a factor, she did something 16-, 30- and 40-year-olds do all the time,” Smith said. “She’s not in elite company, I’ll tell you that.”