Police officer and suspect hit by car in San Diego

A San Diego police officer and a suspect he was trying to arrest were hit by a car in the Midway District early Thursday and hospitalized with serious injuries, police said.

The collision was reported at 4:48 a.m. on Midway Drive near Rosecrans Street, said police Officer Billy Hernandez.

The officer, responding to a reported vandalism, had tried to contact a suspect on Midway when the man took off running in the predawn hours.

After a short foot chase, the officer caught up with the suspect and was arresting him in the middle of Rosecrans when the pair were hit by a vehicle.

10News showed video of a white SUV parked in a parking lot with damage to the front passenger side of the vehicle.

The driver remained at the scene and was cooperating with investigators.

“While taking the suspect into custody in the street both were struck by an oncoming vehicle,” San Diego police Sgt. Victoria Houseman said in a statement.

The two injured people were taken by ambulance to two local trauma hospitals to be treated, according to a San Diego Fire-Rescue spokesman.

The officer was reported in serious but stable condition. The suspect, believed to be between 30 and 35 years old, was in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, Houseman said.

San Diego police said southbound Rosecrans Street was closed between Midway Drive and Sports Arena Boulevard.

Kucher writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

karen.kucher@sduniontribune.com