CLEARWATER, Fla.- Clearwater Police and Clearwater Fire & Rescue are on the scene of a crash with serious injuries on U.S. 19 near Drew Street.
The southbound lanes of U.S. 19 are closed south of State Road 590 and will be shut down likely for several hours. According to police, the crash happened just before 7 PM Tuesday when a pickup truck slammed into a police vehicle that was conducting a traffic stop on the side of the highway.
The driver of the truck was taken to Morton Plant Hospital as a trauma alert.
The police officer who was making the traffic stop was not injured as he was away from his Chevrolet Tahoe at the time, talking with the driver he had pulled over.
The pickup and the police SUV sustained significant damage. The police SUV had been pulled over on the left side of the highway but was pushed to the right side of the highway by the impact of the crash.