NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – A North Miami Beach police officer is in critical condition at Aventura Hospital after she was involved in an early morning crash Sunday.
North Miami Beach police said Officer Nicole Mood was driving her police cruiser at Northeast 163rd Street and Northeast 19th Avenue about 1 p.m. when another car slammed into the cruiser.
"All I see is the red car speeding coming from 163rd, and I see the officer coming down. She had the green light. The red car just came and cut the light and just hit it and banged it," a witness said.
The impact sent Mood's car into a light pole.
Mood had to be extracted from her patrol car. She was rushed to Aventura Hospital, where she remains is in critical condition.
Police said the driver of the car at fault tried to run away but was immediately taken into custody. The passenger of that car was also taken to Aventura Hospital in stable condition.
During the crash investigation, there was a second crash involving a North Miami Beach patrol car. Police said a sport utility vehicle failed to stop and crashed into the police vehicle that was establishing a perimeter after the initial crash.
One person in the SUV was taken into custody for a bench warrant. There were no injuries in the second crash.
Investigators will be looking to see if the driver of the at-fault car was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash.
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