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El Cajon policeman dragged by fleeing suspect's SUV then struck by another vehicle

While trying to detain the man one of the officers wound up trapped partially inside the SUV and was dragged down the street until another moving vehicle struck him.
Credit: KFSM

EL CAJON, Calif. — An El Cajon police officer was badly injured Monday when he was dragged by a rental SUV driven by a fleeing motorist and then was struck by another vehicle, authorities reported.

Patrol personnel responding to a report of a Volkswagen SUV blocking the roadway in the 100 block of West Washington Avenue in El Cajon found a man and a young woman asleep in the illegally parked vehicle about 8:30 a.m., according to police.

"When officers woke the occupants, the driver provided identification for someone other than himself and officers began to investigate," Lt. Randy Soulard said. "During this contact, the driver suddenly started the vehicle and began to put it into gear."

While trying to detain the man and keep him from driving off, one of the officers wound up trapped partially inside the SUV and was dragged down the street until another moving vehicle struck him, sending him tumbling onto the roadway as the fleeing motorist sped away, police said.

Medics took the lawman to a hospital, where he was admitted in critical but stable condition, Soulard said.

Police later found the Volkswagen, which belongs to a San Diego car- rental company, abandoned a short distance from where the officer was injured.

The man who had been driving the SUV, who appeared to be in his 30s or 40s, and his companion, who looked to be in her late teens or early 20s, remained unidentified and at large in the late afternoon. 

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