CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The westbound lanes of the Courtney Campbell Causeway have reopened after two separate early morning crashes involving five vehicles, including three Clearwater police officers.
- Two separate officer-involved crashes Saturday morning
- Crashes occurred within 12 minutes on the Courtney Campbell
- Westbound lanes now reopen
Officials say the crashes occurred within 12 minutes of each other.
The first crash occurred as an officer responded to a disabled vehicle in the westbound lanes of the causeway around 3 a.m. While the officer was waiting for a tow truck, his police cruiser, which had the emergency lights activated, was struck by a westbound Toyota Corolla.
The driver of the Toyota said he had looked down at his phone when he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the police cruiser.
Officials say no one was injured in that crash.
Two other officers arrived on scene to investigate the crash and another westbound vehicle, a Ford Fusion, slammed into the rear of one of those cruisers, pushing it into the other police vehicle. The report also stated that the other two police cruisers had their emergency lights on as well.
Officials said the three officers on scene--Paul Bosco, Michael Beaver, and Kevin Vigh--were struck either by the vehicles or flying debris.
The driver of the Ford said he fell asleep at the wheel when he crashed into the police cruisers.
Both drivers that crashed into the cruisers were cited with careless driving.