SAN MARCOS (CNS) - A San Diego police motorcycle officer on his way to work was seriously injured in a traffic collision in San Marcos Wednesday, authorities said.
Officer Bruce Byrd was riding his motorcycle eastbound on Borden Road when the crash occurred at Palo Alto Court about 5:50 a.m., according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, which was handling the investigation because it patrols San Marcos.
As the officer approached the intersection, a 27-year-old Escondido woman driving a 2000 Honda Civic northbound on Palo Alto Court turned left onto westbound Borden Road in front of Byrd's motorcycle, said sheriff's Sgt. Stephanie Guerra.
The motorcycle struck the driver's side of the Civic and Byrd sustained a broken leg, hip injury and laceration to his head, according to Guerra.
Though seriously injured, the officer was conscious when an ambulance took him to Palomar Medical Center, said sheriff's Lt. Jim Walker.
The driver of the Civic did not appear to be injured, according to the lieutenant.
SAN MARCOS (CNS) - A San Diego Police Department motorcycle officer suffered serious injuries Wednesday when he got into a collision at a North County intersection while riding to work.
Bruce Byrd, a 19-year SDPD veteran, was eastbound on West Borden Road in San Marcos shortly before 6 a.m. when the driver of a northbound 2000 Honda Civic pulled directly into the path of his patrol motorcycle at Palo Alto Court, authorities said.
The collision left Byrd, 47, with a compound leg fracture and a dislocated knee, SDPD Lt. Andra Brown said. Medics took the uniformed officer, who was conscious following the crash, to Palomar Medical Center.
The driver of the car, a 27-year-old Escondido woman, did not require hospital care. She told investigators she did not see the approaching police motorcycle when she accelerated after yielding for a stop sign at the road crossing.
It was unclear if she will be cited for the crash, according to sheriff's officials, who will investigate the accident because it occurred in their jurisdiction. The San Diego Police Department will conduct a separate probe, since the accident involved one of its employees, according to Brown.
Byrd, a San Marcos resident, has been assigned to the SDPD Traffic Division since October 2001 and has served as a motorcycle officer for three years, the lieutenant said.
