CHICAGO – Video posted on Facebook shows a group of good Samaritans pulling a Chicago police officer out of a squad car after he crashed into a tree.
Police said officers were assisting on a foot pursuit in the 3000 block of East 79th Street on Tuesday around 5:45 p.m. Police said while they were traveling north on Jeffrey Boulevard in a marked squad car with their lights and siren on, a dark-colored SUV failed to yield to the officers and hit the car. In order to avoid a collision, the officer hit the brakes and slid into a tree. The driver of the SUV then fled the scene.
Kevin Russell posted the video on his Facebook page on Tuesday. He said he was driving down Jeffrey Avenue after work when he saw the police car “flying down the street” when someone drove into the intersection.
In the video, a man can be seen pulling the officer out of the car after the crash. Russell can be heard asking if the officer is OK.
Witnesses said they saw several people rushing to help the officers and some called 911. Both officers in the car had minor injuries and were taken to Christ Medical Center.
“The officer is a human being, he’s not just an officer or an object,” Russell said.
“There’s not all bad in the world. There’s not. There’s a lot of good. But we only look at the bad part. It has to get better,” one neighbor said.
The man in the video helping the cop has not been identified.
