A Cleveland city traffic safety panel is to review the patrol-car crash near West 136th Street and Lorain Avenue. Police say patrol-car collisions go to the panel first, and they have not decided whether the officer will receive a ticket or face charges, according to FOX 8 News. The report does not give a date for the review.
What is known about the crash
FOX 8 reported that police said the officer was not responding to a call. Investigators placed the cruiser’s speed at 48 mph in a 25 mph zone and said it crossed left of center before the collision. The report said no explanation had been provided for why the cruiser went into the opposing lane.
The accounts of how the parked cars were struck differ. Police said the cruiser hit one vehicle and pushed it into a second; FOX 8 reported that witness Ray Wrobel said the cruiser struck both vehicles directly. The report did not resolve the discrepancy.
The review and emergency-driving rules
Ohio law provides certain traffic-rule exceptions for emergency or public safety vehicles responding to an emergency call when the vehicle displays a qualifying warning light and the driver gives an audible signal. The law also requires drivers to exercise due regard for safety. The conditions in Ohio Revised Code Section 4511.041 do not by themselves establish what happened in this crash; police have said the officer was not responding to a call.
FOX 8 reported that the officer suffered serious injuries, was drug tested under city policy, and had been away from work while recovering. The panel review and the decision on any ticket or charges remain pending, leaving the cause of the cruiser’s lane departure unresolved.
