Aug 26, 2008 10:00 pm US/Eastern
Officer Seriously Injured In Philadelphia Crash
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
A police officer was seriously injured after a crash in Center City that left two others injured early Tuesday morning.
Authorities said a patrol car from the 9th District collided with another vehicle near Broad and Spring Garden Streets at about 1 a.m.
Deputy Commissioner Thomas Wright said Officer Christopher Simone was responding to an assist call at the Hahnemann Hospital ER after reports of a patient causing a disturbance.
Officer Simone was heading southbound on Broad Street with lights and siren on when his patrol car was struck on the driver's side at the Spring Garden intersection.
The impact of the crash sent the officer's vehicle into a nearby pole, knocking him unconscious.
Simone, a seven-year veteran of the force, was rushed to Hahnemann Hospital in critical condition. He reportedly suffered several broken ribs, a fractured leg and head injuries.
Simone is in a drug-induced coma, which Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said is "standard procedure for an injury like this."
Ramsey said it will take a full 24 hours until doctors can say for certain that Officer Simone will be OK. However, as it stands, doctors said he should make a full recovery.
Two civilians inside the other vehicle involved were taken to Hahnemann with non-life threatening injuries.
Police said the suspect in the ER disturbance, 49-year-old Arthur 'Junior' Walton, was subdued by officers outside the hospital. He was apparently armed with a box cutter.
Walton is facing charges of aggravated assault, possessing an instrument of crime and related offenses.
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