Cronulla police car smash: Mercedes and police car destroyed in serious crash
WITNESSES say a highway patrol car was chasing a speeding driver when the police vehicle collided with another car near Cronulla today, resulting in an elderly woman rushed to hospital in a critical condition along with a young child.
St George Shire Standard
Don't miss out on the headlines from St George Shire Standard. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A WOMAN is in a critical condition after a serious crash involving a police car near Cronulla today.
Police believe the car, which was a highway patrol vehicle, was under lights and sirens when it collided with another vehicle on the Kingsway at Connels Rd, Cronulla.
A witness who lives in Coronial Ave said he heard another vehicle speeding up the Kingsway before the police car followed it up the road.
“I had my head under the car when I heard the sirens,” he said.
“I popped my head out and that’s when I saw the lights as well.”
Sutherland Shire PAC duty officer Gary Ford said the police car was travelling westbound in the right hand lane when the vehicle turned right out of Connels Rd.
“The police officer was alone in the car and we believe he only has minor injuries,” Chief Inspector Ford said.
The bumper was torn off the front of the police car by the impact, which stuck on the front right hand side of the vehicle.
The other vehicle, a Mercedes sedan, was also badly damaged on the driver’s side.
A 68-year-old woman, the driver of the car, and a two-year-old boy, who was a passenger, were taken to St George Hospital. The boy was uninjured and taken as a precaution.
“The elderly woman driving the other car has been taken to hospital with more serious injuries.”
A witness who lives in Connels Rd said he had seen the woman who was driving the car lying near the car after the incident.
“The woman was turning right out of Connels Rd onto the Kingsway, and she was hit by the police,” the man said.
The westbound lanes of the Kingsway will be closed for several hours while police clear the scene, with traffic being diverted away via Connels Rd.
The right hand turning lane on the Kingsway eastbound is also closed.
Police have launched a critical incident investigation
