Mercedes driver critical, Bucks officer injured in head-on crash

Breaking News Desk

A Mercedes Benz collided with a police cruiser early this morning in Falls Township, Bucks County, critically injuring the driver and causing multiple fractures to the officer.

Lt. Henry Ward of the Falls Township Police Department said the crash occurred shortly after 4 a.m. as Officer Matthew Killeen was responding to a low-priority alarm, which later turned out to be false.

Killeen was driving east on Tyburn Road when a gold, 1993 Mercedes Benz traveling west suddenly crossed lanes, Ward said. The Mercedes struck the cruiser head-on at Tyburn and New Falls Roads, police said.

The speed limit along the road is 55 mph, and Killeen was believed to be traveling at or below the limit. He did not have sirens or flashers activated. Killeen, 28, and a three-year veteran of the force, was trapped in the cruiser and had to be extricated. He was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center in Langhorne where he was in stable condition with fractures to the hip and back. His left wrist and hand will also require surgery, Ward said.

The driver of the Mercedes was also taken to St. Mary's and was in critical condition. His identity has not yet been released. But police have taken blood and urine samples from him.

The accident is still under investigation.