Police: Six injured in Patterson crashes

A total of six people were injured in vehicle crashes Monday afternoon in Patterson after a police unit was struck by a truck while attempting to respond to a separate crash, Patterson Police Chief Patrick LaSalle said.

At about 3:45 p.m. Monday, a Patterson police unit was responding to an accident south of the railroad tracks. The police unit turned into eastbound traffic and was struck by a truck at the intersection of Veterans Boulevard and U.S. 90, LaSalle said. The officer operating the unit had his lights and sirens engaged when the truck hit the unit, the chief said.

That collision caused the police unit to strike another vehicle in the U.S. 90-Veterans Boulevard intersection, LaSalle said. Four people were injured in those crashes, and all were transported to Teche Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, he said.

LaSalle called the St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office to investigate the accident involving the police officer. The crash involving the Patterson officer is still under investigation, said Sheriff's Office Detective Lt. Traci Landry.

The crash that the officer was attempting to respond to involved an off-road dirt bike that was traveling in between the storage buildings at Hebert Rentals Mini-Storage and struck a cyclist, who was riding in front of the buildings, LaSalle said. Both the dirt bike rider and cyclist were juveniles and were transported to Lafayette General Medical Center also with non-life threatening injuries, he said.