An Edgewood police officer was injured in the line of duty last week while conducting a traffic stop during a DWI enforcement detail.
The officer was working traffic when his patrol car was struck from behind by a suspected intoxicated driver.
The officer, Robert Page, was inside his vehicle at the time of the crash, which officials say likely prevented more severe injuries.
The force of the impact pushed his vehicle into another car in front, injuring both Page and a passenger in the third vehicle.
“This person was intoxicated and taken to the Santa Fe County Detention Facility,” Sgt. Angie Byrd confirmed. “When she struck Officer Page, it also made him strike the vehicle in front of him, causing injury to the passenger of that vehicle.”
The suspect was arrested at the scene. The condition of the injured passenger was not disclosed.
During the most recent town commission meeting, Edgewood Police Chief Aaron Frost addressed the incident.
“Just an update — you guys might have heard that we had an officer injured in the line of duty on Sunday, actually out working traffic,” he said. “I think maybe the lucky sense to that was he was protected by the inside of his car and wasn’t outside of his car, but the officer was hit from behind.”
Frost also highlighted the tragic irony of the situation. “He came out to work the DWI overtime…It was confirmed that the driver who hit Officer Page was intoxicated.”
Despite his injuries, Page reportedly acted quickly after the crash and “made sure everybody else was okay.”
“When he got hit, he was probably about maybe average of 40 mph, but he had the presence of mind to get out of that vehicle and still render aid to the other vehicles hit,” Frost said.
Page was transported to the hospital and has since been discharged. He remains off duty and is expected to attend continued medical appointments to assess his condition.
“He was pretty banged up — in a neck brace — and I think he’s going to have continued medical appointments to figure out where he’s at with that,” Frost added.
Due to HIPAA regulations, no further medical information has been released.
As of now, Page remains off duty and the case is under investigation.