ALTON, Ill. — An Alton officer has been released from the hospital after he crashed his patrol car while responding to a police pursuit early Monday morning.
The crash happened at about 3:30 a.m. near Broadway and Main Street. Alton Police Chief Marcos Pulido said a vehicle reported stolen in St. Louis County passed through Alton and several agencies were involved in a brief pursuit. An Alton officer was responding to assist in the pursuit when he lost control and crashed.
His squad car snapped a utility pole then struck a building. First responders worked more than an hour and a half to rescue him from the mangled wreckage.
Justin Hale’s office inside the building was damaged significantly in the crash.
“This is my office, so I’m kind of down for the day in dealing with this," Hale said. "Fortunately, there was nobody on site at the time of the accident and nobody was seriously injured.”
The officer appeared to be alert as he was airlifted to a St. Louis area hospital, Pulido said. Monday afternoon, Alton police said the officer was discharged from the hospital.
Pulido credited the teamwork from several agencies in helping the officer.
"With the amazing assistance of the Alton Fire Department, AMEREN and Fred’s Towing, the Officer was able to be safely extricated from the squad car," Pulido wrote in an email update to 5 On Your Side.
An investigation into the crash is in its early stages.
Police were able to find the stolen car in Alton a short time later, but the suspects were gone. No one has been taken into custody.
About 400 Ameren customers were without power Monday morning due to the crash.