Providence officer swerves to avoid vehicle, crashes patrol SUV into building
![A Providence police office was injured when he swerved his cruiser to avoid a vehicle, police said, and crashed into a building on the corner of Broadway and Vinton Street Saturday night. [The Providence Journal / Sandor Bodo]](/gcdn/authoring/2019/04/14/NPRJ/ghows-PJ-868585cb-e864-18d8-e053-0100007f89e2-0cada136.jpeg?width=660&height=441&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
PROVIDENCE — A patrol officer was injured Saturday night when he swerved to avoid a vehicle and the police SUV he was driving jumped the curb and hit a brick building.
Police Chief Col. Hugh T. Clements Jr. said Sunday evening that the officer was responding just before 11 p.m. to a disturbance in progress, weapons involved, at the beginning of his shift.
He was outbound on Broadway, Clements said, when a vehicle emerged from the right. The officer swerved left, hitting a building at Vinton Street and Broadway, where signs say Mike the Tailor and direct deliveries to another address.
The injured officer was taken to the hospital, Clements said, "and thank God he's recovering."
Clements said the circumstances are being investigated. But accidents do happen, he said, especially when police try to reach a potentially violent situation in time to prevent a tragedy. "Unfortunately, officers get injured."
— dnaylor@providencejournal.com
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