Police car crashes in Cedar Rapids

UPDATE: No serious injuries were reported after a nasty-looking crash involving a Cedar Rapids police squad car Tuesday morning.

The patrol car and a white sedan collided around 9:30 a.m. at the corner of Sixth Street and Eighth Avenue SW. The white car ran over a traffic sign and partially onto a sidewalk. Both vehicles sustained heavy damage, with spider-web cracks in the windshield of the white car, and the bumper detached from the patrol car.

Sgt. Brian Been said Officer Phillip Meyer was southbound on Sixth Street SW, turning left onto Eighth Avenue SW when he struck the northbound car driven by Muriel Gordon, 27, of Cedar Rapids. He said the officer did not have his emergency lights on. Initial reports were that both cars may have had a yellow light.

A man who was a front seat passenger in the white car was seen by medics for a scrape on his nose from the airbag, but was not taken to a hospital. Meyer, Gordon and the two young children in the back seat were not hurt.

Gordon said the police officer turned as she was passing through the intersection, colliding with her driver's side door. The passenger in the car, who declined to give his name, said the officer may not have seen their car coming, due to a car in the opposite turn lane.

Collisions automatically activate dash cameras in the Cedar Rapids police squad cars, and footage can be rewound to capture the incident. Been said the crash was still being investigated.

“We've got to review the tape,” Been said.

Gordon said the children, ages 2 and 5, were in car seats in the back seat. She said they were scared and crying after the impact, but not hurt.

The couple feared that their car was not repairable, because both front-seat airbags deployed.

“It just happened fast,” Gordon said. “It's really unfortunate.”

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