Brownsville police cruiser crashes
BROWNSVILLE – Ice, utility poles and police cars don’t mix. Brownsville Borough’s 2003 Crown Victoria police car smashed into a metal utility pole on Market Street early Tuesday morning, after hitting an icy patch in the downtown area.
Part-time police officer David Hromoda was taken by ambulance to Uniontown Hospital. Mayor Norma Ryan said Hromoda was admitted for observation for a possible head injury caused when the airbag in the car deployed.
“Material things can be replaced. Thank God the officer is OK,” Ryan said.
According to police Chief Gerald Elliott, the car slid on the icy road just before 5 a.m., Tuesday. The right front wheel of the car then went up onto the curb and before Hromoda could get the vehicle back under control, it struck the utility pole.
Elliott said the car was severely damaged in the accident, though Hromoda did not appear to receive serious injuries. The car was towed to Kudyba’s garage in West Brownsville. It has not yet been determined if the vehicle can be repaired or if the borough’s insurance company will declare the vehicle totaled, Ryan said.
“We’re using car number two, the old car,” Ryan said. “It had been in the garage having some repairs and we just picked it up and are using it.”
The new car was obtained through a state grant last year.