Barely hurt, too.. It's not in the article, but the officer said in the CHP forum that he was going 120mph and won't drive anything but a Crown Vic anymore.


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CHP officer just cut, bruised after serious Highway 85 crash
- Demian Bulwa, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, September 10, 2006


(09-10) 15:16 PDT MOUNTAIN VIEW -- A California Highway Patrol officer was fortunate to suffer only cuts and bruises when his patrol car crashed into a sound wall at high speed early today on Highway 85, ripping off its front end and propelling its engine 20 feet away, an agency spokesman said.

"He's very fortunate to be alive," said Officer Steve Perea, a CHP spokesman for the San Jose area. Perea declined to identify the officer, who has been with the CHP for two years, because some of his family did not yet know of the crash.

The officer crashed at 6:30 a.m. while on his way to help other officers who were pursuing a man driving a stolen 1997 Toyota Camry going more than 100 mph while careering on and off freeways, Perea said. The officer, whose emergency lights and siren were on, lost control of his Ford Crown Victoria on northbound Highway 85 near the intersection of El Camino Real, veering off the right side of the road into the wall, Perea said.

The officer was wearing a seat belt, and the vehicle's airbags deployed, Perea said. A colleague driving behind him called for help. The officer was taken to Stanford Medical Center, where he was scheduled to spend the night Sunday as a precaution and because he may have ingested some glass during the wreck, Perea said.

The 20-minute pursuit of the Camry was called off when the officer's crash was reported. The driver remains at large.