The search is underway for a driver who police say struck and injured an officer early Wednesday morning in a south Boise neighborhood.
Shortly after 4 a.m., a Boise Police officer was conducting a criminal investigation when he initiated a traffic stop near Vista Avenue and Spaulding Streets. Police did not release details of the criminal investigation.
“The traffic stop ended with the suspect’s vehicle and the patrol vehicle facing each other. When the officer was approaching the car, the driver intentionally drove his vehicle toward the officer, striking the officer and his patrol car. The driver then fled the scene,” according to a Boise Police Department news release.
Paramedics and additional officers arrived on scene -- and the injured officer was rushed to a local hospital.
The officer has since been released and is expected to make a full recovery, the press release stated.
The patrol car ended up with front-end damage and damage to the driver’s side.
Boise Police officers and detectives are continuing to search for the suspect.
It’s believed there were at least two people in the suspect’s vehicle.
The suspect's vehicle -- a Hyundai Sonata -- was found abandoned near Hillcrest Drive a short while later.
Officers conducted an area search -- which included a K-9 tracking team, but did not locate either the driver or the passenger who apparently fled on foot.
Police released surveillance photos of a young woman who they called a “person of interest” in the hit-and-run. Officers believe she was in the vehicle at the time.
Anyone with information about the person of interest or the hit-and-run driver is asked to contact dispatch at 208-377-3790 or Crime Stoppers at 208-343-COPS (2677), www.343COPS.com, or leave a tip using the “P3 Tips” app for your mobile device.
