Officer In Coma After Car-Stop Crash

Two Philadelphia police officers remain hospitalized, one of them in critical condition, after being hit struck by the car of a suspected drunk driver.

Police said the driver of a red Chevrolet may have been drag racing down Aramingo Avenue. When they stopped the driver, he appeared to be drunk, so the driver was handcuffed and put in the back of the police cruiser.

Investigators said that as two officers were going thru the car a black Honda Pilot sideswiped their patrol car and plowed into the red Chevy.

Officer Richard Hayes, who was still searching the vehicle, suffered head injuries that included multiple facial fractures. Fellow officers couldn't wait for an ambulance, so they rushed the 28-year-old officer to an emergency room.

Hayes was reported to be in a drug-induced coma Monday morning at Aria Health's Torresdale Campus.

Officer George Higginson, 25, was standing by the Chevy when the crash occurred. He has serious leg injuries, also hurt his arm and is listed in stable condition at Hahnemann University Hospital.

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said that driver of the Chevy from the original stop attempted to escape from the injured officers by kicking out a window, but he was apprehended by an off-duty police officer.

Police also arrested the driver of the Honda, 20-year-old John Cusick, of Bristol, on charges of aggravated assault, speeding and driving under the influence.

Investigators said they haven't been able to speak to either of the 24th District officers due to the severity of their injuries.

Ramsey said Sunday that Hayes was recovering but remained in the intensive-care unit, and doctors were waiting to see if surgery was going to be required for bleeding on the officer's brain.

The 24th District lost Sgt. Timothy Simpson last year in a crash involving an alleged DUI driver.

Hayes is the nephew of Philadelphia police Officer Bob Hayes, who was gunned down during a traffic stop in 1993.