Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Officer struck in suspected DUI crash suffered skull, lung injuries

Updated Thursday, April 14, 2011 | 1:01 p.m.

Click to enlarge photo

Brandon Potts

Click to enlarge photo

Police display a motorcycle's flashing lights for the media Thursday in an effort to recreate the visibility conditions of an early morning crash that left a Metro officer hospitalized with serious injuries.

Crash location

Metro Police discussed the injuries that an officer suffered this morning in a collision involving a suspected drunken driver on Las Vegas Boulevard.

Authorities said the driver, Brandon Potts, 42, of Henderson, crashed his pickup truck into the officer's motorcycle, which was pulled over during a traffic stop near the Town Square retail center.

The traffic officer was investigating an earlier accident about 1:35 a.m. that had occurred just south of Sunset Road on Las Vegas Boulevard. While the officer was off his motorcycle, a 2009 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck traveling south on Las Vegas Boulevard struck the motorcycle, which propelled it forward, striking the officer and an unoccupied 2001 BMW involved in the earlier accident, police said.

Metro Sgt. Richard Strader said the officer was launched about 50 feet.

The officer was taken to University Medical Center's trauma unit with a skull fracture, two broken ribs, a punctured lung, a fractured vertebrae and a dislocated left knee. Police said the officer's injuries aren't life-threatening and he was responsive.

The officer, who Strader described as an “almost 20-year veteran,” hadn't been identified Thursday afternoon.

Strader said there were at least two other drivers arrested for DUI in the area of Sunset Road and Las Vegas Boulevard during the investigation into the two accidents.

“There’s no reason in this town and this day and age for people to get behind the wheel after they’ve had any amount to drink,” Strader said.

He also stressed the importance of moving into the far lane when drivers see police conducting a traffic stop.

“When you see those red and blue lights flashing on the roadway, slow down, move over and pay attention to what’s going on. They’re there for a reason,” Strader said. “When I was on a motorcycle with people speeding past me, it’s scary out there. It’s intimidating when you’re out there on the freeway.”

Potts was arrested in connection with DUI-substantial bodily harm involving alcohol. Potts, who wasn't injured, was being held at the Clark County Detention Center without bail.

A woman involved in the earlier accident that police initially had stopped for was also arrested on suspicion of DUI, police said. The woman had crashed into a barrier outside Town Square, Strader said.

Las Vegas Boulevard was closed in both directions in the area for several hours and reopened about 6:30 a.m.

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