Mayor crashes SUV into police officer on motorcycle, sends him flying into fountain
The mayor of Inglewood, California, and a member of the Los Angeles Police Department are counting their blessings after a horrifying car crash on Tuesday sent his SUV hurtling into a police officer sitting on a motorcycle. The officer was launched into a nearby water fountain.
The accident was caught on video by an area surveillance camera, obtained by Los Angeles ABC station KABC.
Mayor James Butts, who has served as mayor of the Los Angeles suburb since 2011, is a longtime public figure in Southern California. He served as a police officer himself, and later police chief, in Santa Monica.
The video shows Butts' black SUV making a left-hand turn into the entrance of the University of Southern California on Tuesday morning when he is clipped by a silver sedan in the oncoming lane and sent spiraling into the police officer, who was standing stationary on his motorcycle.
The officer, who has not been named, was wearing his helmet when he was knocked into the nearby fountain. He suffered substantial injuries, but is expected to make a full recovery, according to KABC.
The driver in the sedan was uninjured.
"I am thankful the occupants of the other vehicle were uninjured," Butts said in a statement Wednesday. "I am thankful that the Motorcycle Officer is expected to make a full recovery. He has been on my mind and heart since the accident.
"I was a Motorcycle officer with Inglewood Police and was hit twice by cars myself," he added. "It is a dangerous job. I was so grateful to see that he was alert and communicative at the scene. I pray for his speedy recovery."
The driver of the sedan had a green light, while the mayor was waiting to turn, a police source told KABC.
Butts stayed at the scene of the accident and spoke with police officers when they arrived. No one has been charged in the crash, and it's unclear if anyone will be.
ABC News' Rayquan Taylor contributed to this report.
