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HPD officer critical after fiery crash involving DWI suspect

An HPD spokesman says two officers were in a patrol unit when they were struck by the suspect on Telephone Road.

HOUSTON – Two Houston police officers were hurt, one critically, in a head-on crash involving a suspected drunken driver, according to the police department.

The crash occurred on Telephone Road near Peekskill at about 12:15 a.m. Monday.

An HPD spokesman says two 25-year-old officers were in a patrol unit when they were struck by the suspect. The police car flipped upside down and caught fire.

Photos: Officers hurt in fiery crash in southeast Houston

The officer driving the patrol unit, now identified as Officer John Daily, suffered burns to 50 percent of his body and was airlifted to the hospital in critical condition. He is expected to undergo surgery later Monday morning.

A passerby and the officer in the passenger's seat, now identified as Officer Alonzo Reid, pulled Daily from the burning car.

Officer Reid suffered less serious injuries and was taken to the hospital by ambulance.

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo says Officer Daily has been on the force for a year. Reid was also a classmate of Daily’s.

“I remember pinning this officer (Daily), his badge, and his brother, both of them, his twin brother, who has been on force about two years,” the chief said.

Acevedo says Officer Daily's family is on their way to see him at the hospital.

“He’s in a fight of his life,” the chief said. “We really need some prayers, especially for God’s healing, that he be healed in a manner, that at some point he can come back to work.”

The suspect ran from the scene but was later found and was taken into custody. He was said to be a 24-year-old Hispanic male suspect, who now faces multiple felony charges.

“As far as this suspect that caused all this carnage tonight, we’re absolutely going to keep a close eye on this case to make sure he is prosecuted to the full extent of the law, cause we almost lost an officer tonight cause of his selfish act,” Officer Joe Gamaldi, president of the Houston Police Officers Union, said Monday morning.

Police say this wreck was one of three involving officers and DWI suspects overnight.

  • Just before 2 a.m. Monday, a suspected drunken driver crashed into another HPD patrol unit in the 200 block of West Little York and ran from the scene. He was eventually captured. Luckily, the officers involved were not injured.
  • Just before 10 p.m. Sunday, officers stopped a suspected drunk female suspect in the 100 block of Yale. During the stop, she backed up into the patrol unit, and then got into a fight with officers. She was arrested and taken into custody.

“Let’s be real honest, we’re in the worst city, worst county and worst state for drunk driving, and when it comes to driving under the influence, injuries and fatalities,” Acevedo said. “And Texas, we’re very proud of being No. 1 in a lot of areas, but we’re also No. 1 as a state as it relates to fatalities and injuries from drunk drivers. And there is no excuse. I don’t know if it is part of our bravado, I don’t know if it is our masculinity, I don’t know what it is about, but there is no excuse for it.”

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