Aller said Holbrook suffered minor injuries from the crash, which temporarily blocked Main Street and Fountain Avenue around 6 a.m.
FIRST REPORT: Crash involving police cruiser reported in Springfield
According to police scanner traffic, Holbrook radioed to dispatchers that he had been T-boned but didn’t need medical attention.
Aller said one of the drivers ran a red light. OSP is investigating who was at fault. Both vehicles sustained significant damage, including the cruiser that crashed into a traffic control box near Key Bank.
A Springfield city service crew worked for hours on Wednesday to repair the box. Fortunately, it was able to be fixed because depending on the location, a new one could cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Geoff Norman, owner of The Fountain on Main said he’s seen a lot of similar accidents during the 15 years the restaurant has been in business. He thinks the problem is a combination of speed and unfamiliarity with the one-way streets downtown.
“I would say once every two weeks I see a car going the wrong way,” he said.
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On Wednesday, there was still evidence of the crash — over a foot of skid marks on the sidewalk, as well as broken pieces of headlights and obvious markings on the pole where the cruiser hit.
“Even though it’s a one-way street on Main Street out here, there are a lot of times that you still have to look both ways,” Norman said.
Back in July, another Springfield police cruiser was totaled after it was stolen out of police headquarters by William Dufner. He eventually crashed the vehicle on U.S. 40.
Damage estimates to the cruiser that crashed on Wednesday haven’t been determined yet.
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