A veteran Plantation police officer injured in a head-on collision with an SUV Tuesday afternoon has been upgraded from critical to serious condition.
25-year veteran K-9 officer Curtis Hampton was on-duty patroling at the time of the accident, a PPD spokesperson said.
Investigators are still working to determine how his patrol car and a gold SUV came to collide head-on in eastbound lanes of West Broward Boulevard at 70th Avenue, though early reports from the scene suggest the SUV may have possibly veered into oncoming traffic.
Plantation Fire Rescue used Jaws of Life to extract Hampton from the wreckage, and he was airlifted to Broward General Hospital in a sheriff's office helicopter.
After Hampton was removed from his crushed patrol car, other officers coaxed his K-9 partner Rudi from the backseat of the vehicle.
The dog was examined at a local animal clinic and found to have no major injuries, a police spokesperson said.
The driver of the SUV was transported by ground to Broward General in serious condition, officials said.
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A third person in a Toyota Corolla believed to have rear-ended the officer's vehicle after it was struck suffered minor injuries.
Lanes in both directions of West Broward Boulevard were closed into Tuesday evening as the investigation continued.
