California crash leaves highway officer, tow truck driver injured; DUI suspect arrested: reports

A California Highway Patrol officer and a tow truck driver were both seriously hurt at Southern California on Thursday morning after a suspected drunken driver allegedly caused a freeway crash.

California crash leaves highway officer, tow truck driver injured; DUI suspect arrested: reports

According to police, the driver of a Nissan was speeding westbound on Interstate 10 near downtown Los Angeles around 10:30 a.m. when the vehicle hit the officer's motorcycle, which was parked near the center median while the officer has been helping obvious an earlier accident.

"The motorcycle was subsequently pushed into the officer, the officer was then pushed to the vehicles which were on the freeway," CHP Officer Roberto Gomez said, according to FOX 11 at Los Angeles.

The suspected DUI driver's vehicle also struck a disabled Toyota Prius that had been in the earlier crash along with a tow truck driver was also struck by the bike, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The wreck forced law enforcement to shut a number of lanes of the freeway for hours.

The defendant tried to escape his car and flee but had been arrested by a bystander, FOX 11 reported.

"I watched a guy get out and he jumped over the wall, jumped over to the eastside of the freeway. And that I see him approaching cars, moving up to automobiles like requesting a ride or seeking to enter the car," a witness told FOX 11.

The driver was detained for suspected DUI at the hospital, KTLA-TV in Los Angeles reported.

The CHP officer and the tow truck driver were hospitalized. It was unclear if anyone else took medical care. The victims' medical conditions were not immediately known.

It was unclear what fees the alleged DUI driver may confront.