Driver of Car that Injured SDPD Officer Arrested for DUI

Updated @ 6 p.m.

A San Diego policeman hit by a car driven by a suspected drunken driver and trapped inside his patrol vehicle early Sunday morning was in serious condition in a hospital following surgery.

"The officer had multiple major injuries including broken bones and internal injuries but is expected to survive," said San Diego Police Lt. Dan Plein. "I expect it will be a very long, slow recovery."     The unidentified officer was trapped for 45 minutes in the wreckage of his patrol car until extracted by firefighters, who cut through the crumpled car's roof to reach him, a process that took about 45 minutes.

Sheriff's Lt. Scott Amos said the crash was about 2 a.m.

"The SDPD officer had just dropped off a prisoner at Las Colinas Women's Detention Facility and was on Mission Gorge Road when he got T-boned by another driver who had exited northbound State Route 125," Amos said.

"The suspect's car didn't stop at a red light and came right through the intersection," Plein said.

The suspect was arrested for suspicion of drunken driving, and his identity was being withheld.

-City News Service