Officer injured in crash near mall

A county police officer is in stable condition this morning after a car crashed into his cruiser yesterday on Bestgate Road while he was on the way to the scene of an accident.

The officer was driving west on Bestgate Road just before 11 a.m. to respond to a personal injury crash at Route 450 and Riva Road, police said. The cruiser's lights and siren were on, police said.

At the intersection of Bestgate Road and Research Drive across from the Westfield Annapolis mall, a white 2002 Saturn traveling east on Bestgate Road attempted to turn left onto Research Drive and moved into the path of the oncoming emergency vehicle, according to the report.

The Saturn hit the police car on the driver's side, causing the police car to crash into a white 2005 Toyota Scion that was stopped at the red light at Research Drive and Bestgate Road.

The police car then hit a traffic signal support pole on the grass at the intersection.

The damaged cars were strewn about the road yesterday as officers examined the crash. Bestgate Road was closed periodically over a span of two hours during the afternoon, tying up traffic in the busy area near the mall.

Officer Michael Cooper, who has been a county police officer for three years, assigned to the Southern District, was flown by Maryland State Police helicopter to Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore for possible head and neck injuries.

He was in stable condition this morning.

The driver of the Saturn, Arthur Archibald Richmond III, 89, and the front-seat passenger, Eugenie Richmond, 88, both of Annapolis, were taken by ambulance to Anne Arundel Medical Center. Both were in stable condition this morning.

The driver of the Scion was not injured in the crash.

Sgt. John Gilmer, county Police Department spokesman, said the case is still under investigation.

He said the department encourages drivers to be more cautious around emergency vehicles. Officers are trained in defensive driving and are always on the lookout for anything that could cause an accident with their vehicles, he said.

"It's also the responsibility of motorists to yield to an emergency vehicle when it has its lights and sirens activated," Sgt. Gilmer said.

When drivers fail to yield to those vehicles, it slows their response time and could have serious consequences, he added.