First responders work the scene at a Phoenix police fuel station Friday where a driver smashed through a fence, hospitalizing an ejected officer and a passenger (insets). (Jack Sorgi/KNN PHX)
PHOENIX - A Phoenix police officer was ejected from his patrol vehicle when a suspected DUI driver crashed through a secure fence at a city gas station Friday night — one of three separate collisions involving law enforcement vehicles across Central Arizona in just eight hours.
What we know:
A red-light runner broadsided an inmate transport van, a driver barreled off an elevated parking lot into a gated police fueling yard, and an alleged DUI driver totaled a parked tribal security car, leaving an officer, a detention deputy and three inmates hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
Ejected at the pump:
The crash involving the Phoenix officer occurred at about 9:50 p.m. inside a secure City of Phoenix fleet facility near 24th Street and Maryland Avenue. A Phoenix police officer was fueling his marked Chevrolet Tahoe inside the gated compound when a passenger car drove off an elevated commercial parking lot to the north. The vehicle smashed through the perimeter fence, drove down a berm and slammed directly into the parked police SUV.
The force of the sudden collision ejected the officer from the vehicle. Phoenix Fire Department crews rushed to the scene and transported the officer to a local hospital, where the cop remains in stable condition. At least one person in the civilian car was also taken to the hospital for evaluation. Phoenix police believe impairment was a factor in the crash.
Johnny Newell Newberry (Maricopa County)
Phoenix Police later identified the suspect as 58-year-old Johnny Newell Newberry. "When officers contacted him, a firearm and drug paraphernalia were found in the vehicle," a spokesperson said. "He was booked into jail on charges related to DUI, among others."
Red runner T-bones MCSO van:
About an hour earlier, emergency crews responded to another crash involving a law enforcement vehicle in Phoenix. Around 8:30 p.m., a driver ran a red light at Interstate 17 and 19th Avenue, colliding with a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office transport van. One detention deputy and three inmates were transported to a hospital for evaluation with non-life-threatening injuries. The sheriff's office is investigating the incident.
The smashed front end of a car after hitting a parked Tribal Security truck (top inset) early Saturday. Artemio Upshaw, 23, (bottom inset) was booked on DUI charges. (San Carlos Apache Police Department)
Debris duty disaster:
The chaotic overnight stretch ended early Saturday morning on the San Carlos Apache Reservation. At about 4:30 a.m., a Tribal Security officer was parked along Aravipa Road with emergency lights flashing while removing debris from the road. A suspected drunk driver struck the stationary security unit, sending it rolling down the roadway and leaving the vehicle destroyed.
While the Tribal Security officer managed to avoid injury, police arrested the driver, identified as 23-year-old Artemio Upshaw. Upshaw was booked on charges including DUI, reckless driving, two counts of endangerment, aggravated criminal damage and failure to control speed.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from the Phoenix Police Department, Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and San Carlos Apache Police Department.