An off-duty police officer driving a moped was injured Tuesday in Clairemont after colliding with a car driven by a 17-year-old high school student, officials confirmed.
The traffic accident happened at around 4:45 p.m. at Ute Drive and Clairemont Drive.
San Diego Police Department Sgt. Art Doherty said an off-duty officer was driving a moped when a Volvo driven by a teenager made an illegal U-turn. The officer’s moped -- also carrying his wife – broadsided the vehicle and landed on its side in the street.
Sgt. Doherty said that because it was a “low-speed accident,” the officer sustained non-life threatening injuries, including a possible broken shoulder and broken ribs. The officer’s wife was not seriously injured.
The teenage driver was very upset and shaken up over the collision, the sergeant said. The teen sat on the curb with his head down as officials gathered evidence of the crash and cleared the scene.
“He was extremely upset that he contributed to this collision,” said Sgt. Doherty, adding that no charges would be filed against the teen driver in connection with the traffic accident.
The off-duty officer was transported to a local hospital and is expected to survive his injuries. Sgt. Doherty said both the officer and his wife were wearing helmets at the time of the crash.
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“We know he’s going to have a speedy recovery,” said the sergeant.
The intersection was shut down for about an hour following the accident.
Sgt. Doherty said a large police response was called out to the scene because initial reports deemed the accident much more serious but luckily, that wasn’t the case.
