A police officer in Gaithersburg, Maryland, was hospitalized Friday night after a vehicle collided with his cruiser, causing it to catch fire.
The Montgomery County Police Department told WTOP that around 4:30 p.m., the officer was en route to a report of shots fired. As he was driving on Snouffer School Road on his way to the scene, police said another vehicle coming from Flower Hill Way collided with his cruiser, causing the fire.
Another responding officer in the area was able to extinguish the flames well enough to rescue his colleague from the cruiser. According to police, local firefighters arrived later and finished putting out the fire.
Police said the officer involved in the crash was transported with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the other vehicle was also taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue’s Public Information Officer Pete Piringer posted on X that several lanes in the area were temporarily closed as police and emergency workers responded to the scene.
WTOP’s Veronica Canales and Mary DePompa contributed to this story.