Darleene Barrientos
An investigation into a traffic accident involving a Glendale Police
officer continued Tuesday as all five people injured in the crash
recovered.
Glendale Police Officer Michael Tollack, 24, who has worked for
the department for two years, was driving with his emergency lights
and sirens on about 9 p.m. Sunday when he collided with a 1991 Toyota
Corolla driven by Edris Massihi, 40, of Glendale.
The collision, at Colorado Street and Verdugo Road, caused a third
car, a 1985 Mazda 626 driven by Andranik Toutouian, 52, of Glendale,
to also crash, Glendale Police spokesman Lt. Kirk Palmer said.
Tollack was on his way to assist an officer who was trying to
place a suspect under arrest at Ralphs at 1416 E. Colorado St.
Massihi and a passenger, a 32-year-old woman whose name was not
released, were taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena,
where they were treated and released, Palmer said. Toutouian and a
passenger, a 92-year-old man whose name also was not released, were
taken to Glendale Memorial Hospital, along with Tollack. All were
treated and released.
The crash is the second incident in two months in which a Glendale
Police officer driving with emergency lights and sirens on has
collided with civilian cars.
On Jan. 7, Glendale Police Officer Candice Mudgett smashed into
two minivans and a Ford pickup truck as she drove with her emergency
lights and sirens on to help chase a motorcycle in Los Angeles. The
crash trapped Mudgett, who had to be cut out of her patrol car with
the Jaws of Life. Mudgett is recuperating, but it is not known when
she will be cleared to return to work, Palmer said.
Police officials said the policy to drive with lights and sirens
would not be under review in light of the two accidents, although
officers are always expected to proceed as safely as possible, Palmer
said.
"[Tollack] was making an emergency response and operating as an
emergency vehicle," Palmer said. "I think in law enforcement, we have
an absolute duty to respond to these incidents in a timely manner."
