A Northfield squad car responding to an emergency medical call collided with another vehicle Wednesday afternoon sending the officer and the other driver to the hospital with injuries.
The squad was headed north on Hwy. 3 and a Toyota RAV4 was westbound on Jefferson Parkway in Northfield when the vehicles collided in the intersection about 5:25 p.m. said Northfield Police Chief Monte Nelson.
The officer, 40-year-old Andrew Wierson, was treated for his injuries at Northfield Hospital and released, Nelson said.
The Toyota driver, identified by the State Patrol as Alex Payes, 25, of Northfield, was taken to Northfield Hospital and then flown to HCMC in Minneapolis. He was still hospitalized as of Thursday morning, Nelson said.
A passenger in Payes' vehicle, 19-year-old Jose Payes, was not injured.
All three victims were wearing seat belts, and alcohol was not suspected to be a factor in the crash, the patrol said.
The squad had its lights and sirens and its dashcam was recording at the time of the crash, said Sgt. Troy Christianson of the State Patrol.
The intersection is controlled with a traffic light, but it does not have an opticom system to warn drivers of approaching emergency vehicles and to change the signal to give emergency vehicles a green light.
The Minnesota State Patrol is investigating the crash.
