dSEAL BEACH, CA – According to KTLA, two officers were hospitalized after being struck by an alleged drunk driver in Seal Beach on Saturday.
A suspected drunk driver struck the first officer at about 6:30 p.m. as he was investigating a separate car accident near Seal Beach Boulevard and the Pacific Coast Highway. The officer fired his weapon through the windshield but did not hit the driver.
The driver, identified as Oscar Eduardo Mercado, 23, then fled the scene in his grey Dodge Durango, going north on the Pacific Coast Highway. He crashed into another officer’s car, then collided head-on with a second vehicle before exiting his car and fleeing on foot with his 4-year-old daughter.
After leading officers on a short pursuit, Mercado was arrested and his child taken into custody.
Mercado had also left his 12-year-old brother in the vehicle.
Mercado was taken to a local hospital for evaluation and then transported to Orange County Jail and booked on several charges.
Both injured police officers were treated at a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.