Devon Mountie seriously injured

Officer involved in crash after reports of vehicle being driven erratically

A Devon RCMP officer who was found unconscious and seriously injured is recovering in hospital after being struck by a suspect vehicle.

A Mountie tried to pull over an erratic driver near Devon around 2:30 a.m. Thursday, according to a news release.

The suspect vehicle kept driving and took off southbound through Devon. The RCMP officer did not follow. Another RCMP officer was alerted.

Minutes after the attempted traffic stop, the first officer who tried to pull over the suspect came across a head-on collision at Range Road 264 and Township Road 504 between the suspect vehicle and an RCMP vehicle.

A fellow Mountie was found outside of his vehicle, unconscious and seriously injured. The responding officer administered first aid. The injured officer was then treated by emergency medical services and taken to an Edmonton hospital.

“This was an extremely dangerous situation for our members and speaks to the risks that we may be faced with at any time,” Sgt. Clifton Dunn, Devon detachment commander, said in a news release. “My heartfelt gratitude goes out to the member whose quick response was instrumental in saving his colleague’s life.”

The occupants of the suspect vehicle were trapped inside after the collision and had to be extricated. A passenger in the vehicle was taken to hospital with unknown injuries. The driver was arrested at the scene, RCMP said.

Leduc RCMP and the RCMP collision analyst and criminal crash investigation team investigated the crash.

Because charges have not been sworn, the name of the accused and the charges are not expected to be released until Friday.

RCMP/THE CANADIAN PRESS An on-duty RCMP officer received life-saving treatment Thursday after he was injured in a collision between a car and a police vehicle in Devon. Another officer is being credited with saving his life.