Two Miami police sergeants were searcing for a robbery suspect near Allapattah early Saturday morning when a drunk driver plowed into them, causing injuries to both.
61-year-old Mary Lindsay blew past emergency vehicles and through a police perimeter set up at Northwest 41st Street and 17th Avenue for Sergeants Robert Laurenceau and Orlando Villaverde to work a robbery case.
She struck the two with her 1999 Ford Taurus, sending them flying, before crashing into their unmarked car.
Both officers were taken to Ryder Trauma Center. Villaverde, a 45-year-old who has been with the department 20 years, suffered a broken clavicale and several broken ribs. He was released yesterday.
Laurenceau, 35 and a 16-year veteran on the force, suffered head and possibly spinal injuries. He underwent several hours of surgery Saturday evening.
Mayor Tomas Regalado reported that Laurenceau "is alert, but is in bad shape. I am told his surgery was a success. He will be able to walk."
"They're great guys, both of them," Officer Roger Jackson, who was on the scene when both men were hit, told CBS4. "It's part of the job but every so often, something like this happens and reminds us of what can happen. It's times like this we come together because we have our back up for each other. It's terrible.
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"Don't drink and drive."
Lindsay was uninjured and taken directly to jail. She faces two counts of driving under the influence and charges of DUI with serious bodily injuries and DUI property damage.
