Pines police officer, Miramar man hurt in pre-dawn crash
PEMBROKE PINES A Pembroke Pines police officer was seriously injured after an early morning crash Monday with another motorist along the city’s main thoroughfare.
Officer Ben Burke, 43, was driving his police SUV home from an off-duty detail and traveling east along Pines Boulevard at 3:25 a.m. when a Jeep Cherokee headed south on Douglas Road collided with the officer’s truck, Pembroke Pines police said.
Brandon Jack Ward, 31, of Miramar, drove the Jeep, Pembroke Pines Police Capt. Al Xiques said. Both men were taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood.
Ward was treated and released Monday morning. Burke had multiple injuries and was stable, in guarded condition in the hospital’s trauma ICU, Xiques said.
Neither driver in the crash.
Police said alcohol may be a factor in the incident and that Ward was under investigation. Ward could not be reached for comment.
According to the preliminary findings by detectives that relied on witness statements, Burke had a green light as he drove east on Pines Boulevard and crossed Douglas Road,
was
charged Xiques said.
After the front end of the SUV collided with the passenger side of the Jeep, both vehicles slid to the southeast corner of the intersection. The Jeep rolled onto its driver’s side and stopped against a tree, police said.
Burke is a road patrol officer who has served 19 years in Pembroke Pines and previously worked for the Pompano Beach Police Department before it became a Broward Sheriff’s dis- trict.
Married with two daughters, Burke was Pembroke Pines’ Officer of the Year in 1998.
Xiques called Burke “a very good police officer, a hard worker with strong moral character.”
Police ask anyone with information to call 954-431-2200; email information to Tips@ ppines.com or contact Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-4938477.