CLEARWATER, Fla. — A crash on the Courtney Campbell Causeway injured three Clearwater Police officers early Saturday morning.
The officers were identified as Paul Bosco, Michael Beaver, and Kevin Vigh.
It started just after 3 a.m. when one officer was waiting for a tow truck for a disabled vehicle in the westbound lanes. That officer’s vehicle was hit from behind just before 3:30 a.m., and nobody was injured in that crash.
The driver of the vehicle that hit the officer's cruiser was Joshua Mayer, 33, told officers he glanced down at his phone and lost control of his vehicle.
The injuries came after two other Clearwater Police officers arrived to help investigate the crash. Less than 15 minutes after arriving on scene, another westbound vehicle driven by Billy Chatman,24, slammed into the rear of a police cruiser.
The impact of the car hitting the cruiser pushed it into the other cruiser and sent it flying the officers’ way, investigators said. All three officers were injured by either the impact of the cruiser or by flying debris. They were taken to Mease Countryside Hospital in Safety Harbor to be treated for minor injuries.
All three officers had their emergency lights flashing during the crashes, police said.
Chatman told police he fell asleep at the wheel.
Both drivers were cited with careless driving.
The westbound lanes of the Courtney Campbell Causeway reopened just after 8 a.m. Saturday.
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the 10 News app now.
Have a news tip? Email tips@wtsp.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
