Sanford police officer seriously injured when driver crashes into him

SANFORD, Fla. — A Sanford police officer was seriously injured in a crash Thursday evening while investigating another crash, the Sanford Police Department said.

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Police said a community service officer was outside of his cruiser with his lights flashing at East 25th Street and Summerlin Avenue when a driver struck both the officer and the cruiser.

The officer, whose identity has not been released, was taken to a hospital with several serious injuries.

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Three hours later, another driver crashed into an empty police cruiser while investigators were processing the scene of the second crash.

Westbound lanes of East 25th Street were closed at the time of the crash.

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“I am relieved to know that our community service officer will recover from his injuries. I don’t want to imagine what could have happened,” Sanford police Chief Cecil Smith said in a prepared statement. “Drivers approaching emergency vehicles with their lights activated need to slow down and pay attention.”

See a map of the scene below:

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