SAPD: Driver struck police car, light poles

After hitting a patrol car, a man sped away from the scene Friday night, at one point driving the wrong way on Frio Street to get around traffic before losing control, hitting two light poles and flipping his car, San Antonio police said.

The man, who was in his 30s, was driving northbound in a Toyota Camry on South Frio Street around 10:20 p.m. when he struck a patrol car driving southbound, according to police. The man fled the scene heading north and was seen driving “at a high rate of speed” by a UTSA Police Department sergeant. He then drove into the southbound lanes to evade traffic in the northbound lanes and ran a red light at the intersection with

West Commerce Street, police said.

While driving through the intersection at West Martin Street, the man lost control of the Toyota at a curve in the roadway, according to police. The Toyota went on a sidewalk, crashed into a metal light pole on the passenger’s side and spun around, losing a rear tire in the process. It then crashed into a second pole on the driver’s side and flipped onto its roof before sliding to a stop in the intersection of North Frio Street and North Medina Street, police said.

A passenger, a 32-year-old woman, was thrown from the car after it hit the second light pole, police said. She was taken to University Hospital, where she was reported to be in stable condition.

Another passenger, a 24-yearold man, also was injured. He was taken to Brooke Army Medical Center and was in critical condition, police said.

“There were no other injured parties,” SAPD Lieutenant Michelle Ramos said.

Police determined that the driver was intoxicated, and he has been charged with two counts of intoxication assault, according to police.