Durham police cruiser overturns in wreck
A Durham officer was injured Sunday in a two-vehicle wreck in which his cruiser flipped over and struck a utility pole, police said.
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Police spokeswoman Kammie Michaels said that a Chrysler PT Cruiser in the right, southbound lane of Vickers Avenue tried to make a left turn onto Proctor Street around 7:30 a.m. and struck a marked patrol car in the left, southbound lane of Vickers Avenue.
The cruiser hit a utility pole and overturned, she said. Officer C.W. Tidwell was trapped inside and had to be extricated by firefighters.
Tidwell was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and released from Duke University Hospital.
Michaels said the Chrysler driver – identified as Jose Rodolpho Lopez-Lopez, 35, of Seven Springs – ran from the wreck but later returned voluntarily. He was not injured.
Lopez was charged with felony hit-and-run, driving without a license and unsafe movement. He was placed in the Durham County jail under a $10,000 bond.
Michaels said that Tidwell joined the Durham police force in January 2008 and is assigned to the Patrol Bureau.
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