Three California Highway Patrol officers were injured early Thursday at the scene of an accident in the Los Angeles area when their patrol car was rear-ended by a vehicle and burst into flames, authorities said.
Dramatic video captured the fireball that consumed the police car on Interstate 105 near Lakewood Boulevard in Downey about 1:30 a.m, CBS Los Angeles reported.
The CHP patrol car was struck while stopped on the eastbound lane as the officers directed traffic at the scene of a crash that took place about 90 minutes earlier.
A male officer who was standing outside the police car reportedly suffered major injuries but was expected to survive, while two other officers – a man and a woman — who were sitting inside sustained moderate injuries.
All three were transported to St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, the outlet reported.
A woman who was behind the wheel of the vehicle that slammed into the police car was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants, the CBS outlet reported.
She was not immediately identified.
“CHP had the lane closed with flares out, the driver applied no brakes and went straight into the CHP car, all four wheels off the ground,” witness Robert Martinez told the station.
“That car flipped, CHP stood on the ground. And shortly after is when the CHP car went up in flames,” he added.
The footage showed the burning wreck of the cruiser on the side of the freeway. The SUV with heavy front-end damage was stopped nearby.
A CHP spokesman told The Post that he had not yet received an update from the scene of the crash.
