Police car involved in Main Street crash
Six people were hospitalized Saturday evening after a downtown crash involving a sheriff’s deputy on Main Street.
The deputy, Jesse Reid, suffered minor injuries when his vehicle was struck in the passenger-side by a Jeep driven by Steven Starkey just before 8 p.m. Saturday. The crash resulted in the patrol car striking a stationary vehicle driven by David Romero.
Romero along with his wife, Norma Romero, and their children ages, 1 month, 2 years and 4 years, were all taken to River Park Hospital. None of the victims were seriously injured.
According to Highway Patrolman Mike Tanner, the accident happened as Reid was proceeding south, blue lights activated, on Chancery Street and entered the Main Street intersection by Magness Library. As Reid entered the intersection, he was struck by the Starkey vehicle, which had the green light and was traveling on Main Street. The patrol car then traveled across the intersection, striking the Romero vehicle which was stopped for the red light in the northbound lane.
Tanner said another sheriff’s deputy, responding to the same domestic call, had passed through the intersection seconds before. Reid was trailing the lead car, something lawmen agree is more dangerous than being the lead car in an emergency call because often motorists note the first car but are not aware of the second.
Tanner added the intersection was especially dangerous because the taller buildings on each side block the vision of motorists on Main Street, meaning Starkey had little or no time to react when the Reid unit emerged in the intersection.