Philadelphia police officer injured when Tesla speeds away from traffic stop in Frankford
Just after 9:40 p.m. on Cheltenham Avenue near Charles Street, the officer was conducting a traffic stop when the driver, who allegedly had a gun in the vehicle, took off.
A Philadelphia police officer was injured when he was dragged more than 200 feet by Tesla that fled from a traffic stop Monday night in the city’s Frankford section, police said.
Just after 9:40 p.m. at Cheltenham Avenue and Charles Street, the highway patrol officer and his partner were conducting a routine traffic stop of the Tesla when the officer noticed a gun on the floor under the male driver, said Chief Inspector Scott Small.
With the driver-side door already open, the officer tried to grab the gun when the driver sped off in reverse, “at least 100 feet, probably more … and the officer was holding on for his life,” Small said.
Then the driver, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, shifted gears and sped forward around 100 feet before he physically kicked the officer off the vehicle and fled eastbound on Cheltenham, Small said.
Medics transported the officer to Jefferson Frankford Hospital with scrapes and bruises to his ribs and legs, Small said. The officer was expected to be treated and released.
Because the electric vehicle was nearly quiet when it was stopped, the officers didn’t realize the driver had not shut the engine off, Small said.
The Tesla was described as silver with heavily tinted windows and a Pennsylvania license plate of LZQ0052.