A Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputy is in serious condition after being extricated from a cruiser following a crash in Tampa.
Hillsborough County Sheriff's spokesperson Larry McKinnon said a deputy-involved accident occurred around 5:45 p.m. at Windhorst and North Falkenburg Roads.
McKinnon said two deputies were in the cruiser at the time of the crash. The deputy in the passenger seat, Michael Hannaford, 30, sustained a punctured lung and a broken hip. Hannaford is a 9-year veteran of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, assigned to Patrol District 2. Hannaford had to be cut out of the cruiser because the passenger side took the brunt of the crash with the car.
The deputy driving the cruiser, Christopher Maffei, 28, walked away from the crash without serious injuries. Maffei is a 4-year veteran, also assigned to Patrol District 2. Maffei sustained minor injuries and was taken to TGH. He is expected to be treated and released.
McKinnon said a preliminary investigation stated the HCSO patrol vehicle was northbound on Falkenburg Road and had entered the left turn lane at Windhorst Road to turn into the HCSO District 2 parking lot.
A second vehicle was southbound on Falkenburg Road when it struck the passenger side of the patrol vehicle in the middle of the intersection.
The second vehicle in the crash, a 2002 Ford Taurus, was damaged, but the driver, Teresa Tymes, 32, of Tampa, and a passenger were not injured.
Detectives are working to determine who had the right-of-way at the time of the crash.
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In a similar crash, a Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputy narrowly avoided serious injury early Sunday when a man accused of driving drunk and traveling in the wrong direction plowed into his cruiser.
The deputy was trapped inside, but he was able to call for help on his radio. Deputies arrived in time to pull him from the car moments before both vehicles exploded and were consumed by fire.