Police cruiser crashes into store, officers in stable condition
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/04/2018 (2169 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A Winnipeg Police Service car smashed into a storefront on the corner of Main Street and Polson Avenue on Saturday afternoon.
Pritpal Singh, an employee of the store, was inside moving some drinks with co-workers at the time of the accident.
He remembers hearing police sirens and the next thing he knew a cop car had broken through the front door and was driving towards him.
By the time it came to a stop, it was merely a couple metres away from hitting him, he said.
“It (sounded) like a blast, because the glass was broken. It was like a blast. It was crazy. We were scared, a full-speed car coming at you,” Singh said.
Police said the cruiser was responding to a high-priority weapons call — with sirens on — at the time of the accident.
While travelling southbound on Main Street, the cruiser collided with a red car trying to make a left-hand turn onto Polson Avenue, according to an eye witness.
He said it looked as if the car tried to speed through its turn before letting the oncoming cruiser pass.
“They didn’t make it. It looked like the cop car tried to dodge them, but clipped the back end and spun them out. Then, the cop ricocheted right into the store. I mean, look at that — look how he’s perfectly parked in there,” the eyewitness said.
“It was like a pinball machine, the way he shot in there, like a pool pocket. He bounced right in. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. It was like a movie.
“What a sound. It was quick, loud, bam.”
According to Singh, one of the cops was bleeding from his arm after the crash and seemed in shock, although neither officer appeared seriously injured.
Police said the two officers, as well as an occupant of the other vehicle, were transported to hospital. The officers were in stable condition, while the occupant of the car was in unstable condition.
‘It (sounded) like a blast, because the glass was broken. It was like a blast. It was crazy. We were scared, a full-speed car coming at you’
— Pritpal Singh
The red car was left smashed up in the southbound lane of Main Street. One of its doors had been ripped off from the frame and was left leaning against the back bumper of the vehicle.
Groups of people gathered around the scene taking pictures and talking under the warm afternoon sun. Shattered glass was scattered about the road and police could be seen dropping evidence markers down on the pavement.
The back end of the police cruiser stuck out of the front entrance to the store with its hazards lights blinking.
Traffic was shutdown on southbound Main Street between Inkster Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue.
The closure was expected to last until the evening, according to police.
ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca
@rk_thorpe
Ryan Thorpe
Reporter
Ryan Thorpe likes the pace of daily news, the feeling of a broadsheet in his hands and the stress of never-ending deadlines hanging over his head.
History
Updated on Saturday, April 21, 2018 11:43 PM CDT: Edited