ALTON, Ill. — The Alton Police Department is searching for two men after an officer was hit by a car during a pursuit early Saturday morning.
At around 1:45 a.m., an officer was on patrol in the 900 block of Oakwood Avenue.
The officer saw two cars traveling westbound on Oakwood and they appeared to be street racing, according to Alton Police Chief Jason Simmons.
The officer attempted to stop the speeding cars and a pursuit ensued. One of the cars got away and police continued to chase the other car to Washington Avenue in Alton.
Two other officers used spike strips in the 800 block of Washington to stop the car, but the car saw them and swerved to avoid them. The car hit one of the officers who was holding the spikes strip cable.
After the car hit the officer, it took off and police chased the suspect car into Missouri.
They came across the Clark Bridge and two men got out of the car and ran away from the area. The two suspects are still at large. Police said there was an “abundance of evidence” in the car.
After the officer was hit, his partner applied a tourniquet to his leg and called for an ambulance. The injured officer was airlifted to a St. Louis hospital.
The officer suffered a “very serious” injury to his left leg but he is expected to make a full recovery.