ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The Orange County driver who caused a crash that sent a trooper and a police officer to hospital admitted he was distracted and WFTV learned he never should have been behind the wheel. Christopher Patterson, 27, was driving on a suspended license early Monday morning.
AT THE SCENE: Crash Involves Trooper, Cop
The two squad cars were pulled over on the side of Apopka-Vineland Road and Conroy Road (see map) Monday morning, stopping another car. That's when the distracted driver crashed into all three vehicles.
"Wow, you all have a field day with this don't you?" Patterson asked WFTV. "I was just gonna ask for a cell phone, but ya'll have a nice day."
Patterson didn't say much about the accident that injured a trooper, a Windermere police officer and another driver. Patterson crashed while he was looking for his cell phone.
"Did you lose control of your car, or what happened?" WFTV reporter Steve Barrett asked Patterson.
"No, I bent down to look for this [cell phone], so tell your kids to get rid of them," he replied.
The dropped cell phone was enough to distract Patterson from two cop cars with lights flashing along Apopka Vinland Road just before 4:00am. Troopers gave Patterson a field sobriety test, which he passed, to make sure alcohol was not a factor.
"We've had more than 30 troopers hit in our troop in Central Florida in the last five years," said Sgt. Kim Montes, Florida Highway Patrol.
Patterson has a lengthy record of tickets, racking up a dozen citations, which have left him with a suspended license. Now, he faces multiple charges, including careless driving.
"You have two police vehicles with lights activated, they're on a traffic stop, and they were just moments from exiting their vehicles," Sgt. Montes said.
Everyone who was treated for injuries from the crash, 35-year-old Officer Jason Sipos, 23-year-old Sheri Faynik and 47-year-old Trooper Clark Egerton, was released from the hospital.