MEMPHIS, Tenn. — WREG is uncovering new details in a five-car crash involving a Memphis Police cruiser.
Police said the officer driving was at fault for crashing into the back of other vehicles, even though he and his partner were responding to a carjacking.
“I heard this loud sound like a tractor trailer had turned over, and I ran out and saw all the cars and stuff,” Whitehaven resident Ernest Carter said.
Carter said when he ran down the other side of the hill near his home and saw a police cruiser and four other cars crumpled, he expected people to be seriously hurt.
“It was bad when I looked at it.”
]Five people, including the driver and passenger in the police car, were taken to the hospital.
All are expected to be fine.
Thursday, Memphis Police said it ticketed officer Devin Thompson for failing to maintain control of his vehicle at Winchester and Lakeview.
That is where he slammed into the back of a car with two women inside.
That car swiped the front of another vehicle and hit the back of another car.
MPD said the police car also hit the back of a fifth vehicle.
Four of those, including the cruiser, had major damage.
“When you’re coming over this hill if you’re going too fast, you don’t know what’s at the bottom of it. The light could be green, or it could be red. Somebody could be crossing,” said Whitehaven resident Darryl Webb.
MPD said the police pursuit policy does not apply because the officers were responding to the scene of the carjacking call, not chasing the vehicle Wednesday night.
Regardless, people told WREG they want police to be careful and drive with caution, especially in residential neighborhoods.
MPD said Thompson has no history with the department of being cited or being involved in other accidents.
