Ok, first of all they are no longer called accidents, but collisions. Motor vehicle collisions. Accidents are something that are unexpected, unpredictable.

Now unless the driver of the Sebring has ESP, he is unaware of the other drivers intention and is following the letter of the law.

Second, right-of-way means just that. There are no exceptions. What the officer did was the equivalent of running a stop sign and causing the collision. The officer should be ticketed just the same as a civilian would.

I have mixed feelings about who is liable. I know that the officer was on duty and therefore an extension of the police department, but the car didn't come alive like Christine and ram itself into the Sebring. If the City is responsible for the damage and injuries it comes out of the pockets of the residents of Victoria. I do not believe that I nor anyone else should have to shoulder the burden of this. The officer should provide his personal insurance information since it was his assumption as an individual that all traffic would stop for him.

And finally, I myself have witnessed police officers doing many things that as civilians would be ticketed. I have seen them speed up to avoid red lights, using their lights and siren to get through intersections (no they were not going to any emergency, unless you consider eating emergent), making u-turns where it is clearly posted NO U-TURNS.

Here's hoping to the new chief. May he come in and clean house, get rid of those over inflated egos.

Ahhhh, and Zorro rears his ugly head once again!

if you cant provide any names and if its still being investigated its probabliy officers fault its ok vpd taxpayers will pay for all medical costs and damage to BOTH vehicles end of story.

Some drivers can multitask and some can't, some people drive defensively and some don't. hooked4life, my hat is off to the officer that can and does, talk on a cell phone, run a license plate on the computer, respond to a call on the 2way, run a radar, spot someone not wearing a seat belt, and all of this at the same time! Awesome..
But hey, they are trained to do this.

And of course I do wish that neither the police officer or the citizen involved in the accident were not seriously hurt.

My bad.

1. Citizen traveling WEST. I stand corrected.

Re: Right-of-way, Makes no different WHAT the citizen was doing. His lane had the right-of-way. (I will try to find a way of convaying sarcasm better, as so many folks take every word as literal).

Truth is, it is not safe to stop on a busy street any time and the Policeman should have indicated the first driver proceed and the person that "whipped" around the citizen was not doing anything wrong, in my humble reasoning. The accident could have and should have been avoided by the office waiting until the traffic was clear.

And I will continue to suggest that folks "dial it back" because civil discourse begins with being civil.

From the KAVU story, a motorist stopped to allow the officer to turn onto Mockingbird. All well and good except for the third vehicle.

IMO, chances are, the third vehicle was in a blind spot from the officers perspective, shielded from view by the stopped vehicle, and a accident occurred.

That happens more than people realize. I almost made that mistake myself with a vehicle turning right, never again, if I can't see the inside lane I wait. BTW I received the one finger salute from a driver that stopped to let me turn, the driver not realizing that another vehicle was approaching in the inside lane.

No big deal, it happens.

I saw pictures of the wrecked patrol car on tv. It looked like a really, really minor collision to me. It was hard to see how anyone could have been injured. Of course if I crashed a car and was worried I might get blamed, why not go to the hospital to take some of the heat off my butt.

OK folks. Dial it back a notch. Thanks to the depth of information provided by the Victoria Advocate there or only 2 knowns.

1. Citizen traveling east on 4 lane street (with center turning lane).

2. Police Officer exiting east from a parking lot into traffic.

Now if the the Officer was starting on the south side of Mockingbird he would not be in the Citizens lane. If the Officer was starting from the north side he would have given the right-of-way to oncoming traffic. If the Citizen was talking on cell or changing channels on his TV he had the right of way.

All accidents are avoidable. We should hope for the quick recovery of all involved.

hooked4life,

The vast majority of people on this site hate the City and Cops. Heck one of them even ran for County Judge on that platform. It was pretty well documented on these forums.

If there is place for people to anonymously slander The City, The County, Cops, or anyother kind of person who works for the taxpayers, it is here.

@MyOpinionCounts - Thank you for making my point! It was an accident! I am simply stating that people immediately comment the officer was at fault when they do not know the facts. Maybe you should re-read the article because it does not state using a phone as a contributing factor. As for cops driving horribly that is laughable. You have no idea what they are doing where they are heading and why. They maybe speeding to get to a call where someone was robbed, raped, or maybe another officer needs help. It's sad and pathetic people are so free to criticize the police. But hey that's just me apparently starting stuff and stating my opinion if you don't like it well........sounds like a personal problem.

Really? You jsut have to start something huh? (hooked4life) Get over it...its just an accident and considering every other wreck that involves a cell phone is noted clearly being a factor in the wreck and this one didnt her opinion wasnt "pointless" and as for bscj2010...cops do drive horrible because they feel they are inevitable...I just dont understand why people cannot post their opinions without being critized by people like you. Goodness.....

@bscj2010- You're not surprised really? Because you hear of so many accidents involving police officers. Did you ever stop to think before you entered your pointless opinion that there are always police officers on the street 24 hours a day, that they work long hours and deal with highly stressful situtations day in and day out? Or did you stop to think that maybe the cops are driving fast because they are trying to get to a call to perhaps save someone's life (which by the way may some day be yours)? No I'm sure you didn't. I'm sure you thought you'd just sit back and critize the police for an ACCIDENT. You should take the time to look up the word accident in the dictionary. These officers put their lives on the line everyday for people like yourself and instead of being grateful you just criticize. I would recommend you keep your opinion of police and how they drive to yourself.

@gracierm24- What are you just saying? First of all you weren't there so you're basically talking on something you don't know anything about. Second of all who cares if the officer was on the phone or not? I'm sure you have driven and talked on your cell phone as well. So here you are trying to insinuate the officer was on the phone and automatically that means the officer is at fault right? Because I'm sure the other driver wasn't on the phone or even other drivers on Mockingbird weren't on their phones. Geez if you're going to leave a comment on a page at least have the curtesty to say something intelligent.

My condolences go out to both the officer and the civilian injured in the auto accident. I mean no harm to anyone.

I know someone that witnessed and said the cop was on her phone...just saying!!

I'm not surprised. Some of these cops should be given tickets for the way they drive. Just because you are the police doesn't mean you're exempt from the law.