Officer injured by driver fleeing traffic stop in Brooklyn; shots fired, NYPD says
EAST NEW YORK, Brooklyn (WABC) -- A driver allegedly fleeing a traffic stop struck a police officer in Brooklyn on Friday.
Officers then fired at the vehicle as it sped away from the stop at Hegeman Avenue and Van Siclen Avenue in East New York just after 12:45 a.m.
Jose Urena says he heard the gunshots that police say they fired in response.
"I heard three shots. That's why I looked to the window - I saw him down," Urena said.
Eyewitness News obtained a photo that shows the injured officer on the ground.
Urena says he saw police surrounding their fellow officer who had been hit by a gray Toyota Highlander with New York license plates as the vehicle fled the scene.
"He could have family like me, you never know. He could've gotten killed right there and die you know," Urena said.
Fortunately, the officer was treated for a minor ankle injury at the hospital.
Police were attempting to pull over the SUV over for a motor vehicle violation. They are still looking for the driver.
The officers involved were assigned to the Strategic Response Group unit in Brooklyn.
A few hours after the original traffic stop, the driver of another vehicle was trying to turn onto Hegeman Avenue from Hendrix Street and crashed into a police SUV, causing a bit of a chain reaction crash.
Police are now investigating whether that driver didn't see their police scene tape that had been set up to rope off the first crash scene.
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