Portland officer injured after alleged drunk driver sideswiped police car
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A Portland police officer is off duty for a few days recovering from minor injuries after an alleged drunk driver sideswiped a police car on Wednesday night, authorities said.
Portland resident Kwesi Djorgee, 59, was arrested and accused of driving under the influence of alcohol, among other charges, police said.
Just before 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 30, Portland Police Bureau officers responded to a crash on Internstate-5 in the southbound lane near Southwest Multnomah Boulevard. The arriving officers found a vehicle upside-down. The driver was not hurt and investigators determined the crash was caused by high speed, with the vehicle losing control on the wet pavement on the dark, rainy night.
Officers stayed on the scene, parking in the right lane, and called a tow truck. They activated overhead police lights to alert oncoming drivers. Other drivers continued to speed past them so authorities called in a backup police car that arrived and parked behind the first car and activated another set of overhead lights.
Just after 9 p.m., a car traveling at high speed sideswiped the driver's side of one of the police cars, police said. At the time, one of the police officers was outside the car on the shoulder of the freeway and another police officer was in the passenger seat with a seatbelt on.
At first, neither officer immediately reported being hurt. However, the officer who was in the passenger seat later checked in at a hospital, citing back pain, and he will be out of work for a few days, officials said.
The police vehicle that was hit now has a twisted bumper and dents on its side.
After the crash, the driver — identified as Djorgee — pulled over and was interviewed by an officer. He was later booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center and faces charges that include DUII, reckless driving and two counts of recklessly endangering another person.