One of the newly acquired Hollister Police Department cars
collided with an older model last night causing two officers to be
sent to the hospital, one of whom was airlifted to a Bay Area
hospital, according to a press release from the Hollister Police
Department.
Two Hollister cop cars collide while responding to call
One of the newly acquired Hollister Police Department cars collided with an older model last night causing two officers to be sent to the hospital, one of whom was airlifted to a Bay Area hospital, according to a press release from the Hollister Police Department.
The accident was a result of the two officers responding to a call for assistance from another officer.
Hollister Police Department Sgt. David Westrick said the department declined to release the names of the officers involved.
“We’re not doing that yet,” he said.
The two involved officers initially responded to the call for assistance of one male holding down a female, with another male standing nearby, in a field near the intersection of Robert and Jacqueline drives. Both cruisers reached the intersection of South Street and Westside Boulevard at the same time and collided.
Police confirmed that one of the two vehicles in the accident was among the six new Crown Victorias with a noticeably different design than the older models. The department recently purchased the cars and had them on the street a little longer than a week ago.
The first officer on the scene had been responding to a noise complaint at a field near the intersection of Robert and Jacqueline drives at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. The release said it was for several people being loud.
Upon arrival at the scene, some of the persons fled from police and the officer noticed a male subject holding down a female subject with another male nearby. The officer detained the two male subjects and called in for assistance.
The officer that was not airlifted to the Bay Area hospital was treated at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital. Both were released hours later.
The release said the patrol cars sustained moderate damage and that no other drivers, vehicles or property was involved. The cause of the accident is still under investigation, police said.
Westrick said “all departments” have a policy for testing of drugs or alcohol after such an accident, but declined to go into details of what it entails citing it as a “personnel matter.” Westrick added that the department investigates such incidents when the situation warrants it.
Hollister painting business’ building destroyed in fire
A fire Tuesday night destroyed a 4,800-square-foot building housing Villa Painting off of Fallon Road, a fire captain confirmed today.
The fire was reported shortly after 10 p.m., but by the time firefighters arrived they were forced to battle the blaze in a defensive mode from the outside while preventing it from spreading to nearby buildings, Capt. Mike O’Connor said.
They were successful in containing the fire to the large building – about 80 feet by 60 feet – but the structure is a total loss with estimated damages coming to somewhere between $500,000 and $1 million, O’Connor said. Also preventing firefighters from entering the structure were multiple propane tank explosions, which forced crews to back off of the blaze at times, he said.
“What was burning when we arrived is what burned,” said O’Connor, noting how 32 firefighters were on scene from the Hollister Fire Department, San Benito County Fire Department and Gilroy Fire Department.
O’Connor pointed out how there are some environmental issues to address such as paint that spilled from the building as it burned. He said the county environmental health department is examining the effects.
Fire investigators determined the area of origin – near electrical panels – but there was inadequate evidence to point definitively to a single cause, the fire captain said.
The building located at 120 Fallon Road is on a five- to eight-acre plot near the airport and is neighbored by a few other businesses, O’Connor said. He pointed out that crews also prevented the fire from spreading to the office building “connected right to it.”
