One person is injured in an accident involving a Memphis Police patrol car

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A driver is recovering after violating a red light and causing a crash with a Memphis Police Department patrol car, according to Memphis police.

Officers responded to the accident at the corner of South Cleveland Street and Union Avenue around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.

There they found the destroyed MPD patrol car and another car. One person was taken to the hospital in non-critical condition. The officer in the patrol car was uninjured.

According to MPD, the accident investigation revealed that the driver of the other car had run a red light in Cleveland when the patrol car, which had a green light in Union, struck him on the driver's side, causing the car to spin out and strike a metal utility pole.

The driver was charged with ignoring a red light and driving without a license.

According to MPD, their vehicles were involved in 315 accidents in 2024 alone, 209 of which were not the officers' fault.