A California Highway Patrol officer suffered what were described as major injuries when a vehicle making an unsafe lane change set off a chain-reaction collision as the officer stood along the San Bernardino (10) Freeway in Alhambra near the Monterey Park border, authorities said.
The crash happened about 1:25 p.m. on the westbound 10 at New Avenue, said CHP Officer M. Cisneros.
The officer had parked his 2013 Ford Police Interceptor Utility Vehicle behind a 2013 BMW and was on the right shoulder of the road when a Scion FR-S made an unsafe lane change from the number 2 to number 3 lane, cutting off a 2008 Toyota Rav4, Cisneros said.
The 32-year-old driver of the RAV4 applied her brakes and swerved to the right to avoid colliding with the Scion and lost control, striking the officer's SUV, Cisneros said. The driver of the Scion kept going.
The impact of the RAV4 pushed the officer's SUV into the rear of the BMW.
The 30-year-old officer was struck during that chain-reaction crash and was taken to County USC Medical Center for treatment, Cisneros said. The officer's name was not released.
It was believed that neither alcohol nor drugs were factors in the collision, the investigating officer said.
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The CHP issued a SigAlert, temporarily closing three westbound lanes, which were reopened around 3:50 p.m.
Anyone with information was asked to call Cisneros at the East Los Angeles CHP Office at 323-980-4600.
