LAPD officer hospitalized after being struck in Sylmar hit-and-run; suspect arrested

SYLMAR, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A Los Angeles police officer was hospitalized after being struck in a hit-and-run crash while investigating a traffic collision in Sylmar Friday night, police said.

Officers later took a suspect into custody in Pacoima. The LAPD said the officer was in stable condition.

Police responded around 7:45 p.m. to a call regarding an officer down in the 13500 block of Foothill Boulevard in Sylmar, according to the LAPD.

Video from the scene showed good Samaritans rushing to assist the officer as he lay in the middle of the street. Police said the officer was struck while conducting a traffic collision investigation involving an earlier multi-vehicle crash.

Footage from Citizen showed the initial crash involving multiple vehicles. Police said the driver who struck the officer fled the scene. Investigators later located a vehicle abandoned along the Pacoima Wash.

The injured officer was transported to Providence Holy Cross hospital as investigators worked to identify and locate the driver.

Police traced the suspect to a home on Sutter Avenue in Pacoima. AIR7 was overhead as several people were removed from a home.

Officers eventually took one person into custody. The individual had blood running down his head and was seen with hands behind his back while standing near a police vehicle.

Eyewitness News also spoke with the suspect’s wife, who said her husband’s mother recently died of cancer and that he was on his way to a viewing when the incident occurred. She said he was hospitalized with a possible brain injury and broken leg.

The investigation remains ongoing.