Providence police survey the scene of a police cruiser accident on Admiral Street near the intersection of Huxley Street in Providence, R.I., Thursday, April 19, 2012. © 2012 Stew Milne
This morning I was sitting down with an espresso editing over 800 photos from a shoot the day before when I hear a couple of police cars with sirens blaring drive by my house. This is not an uncommon event, as emergency vehicles use my street all the time. Then another couple of police cars, including undercover cars scream by. After watching 12 police cars speed up my street, I got my clothes on and grabbed my gear. I made call to the AP office, to see if they knew of anything. Since I didn’t know which direction they actually went, it took me a few minutes to find the scene they were heading to. As I arrived, six police cruisers escorted an ambulance away from the scene. Below are the photos from the scene.
A police cruiser lays on a retaining wall after snapping a telephone pole on Admiral Street near the intersection of Huxley Street in Providence, R.I., Thursday, April 19, 2012. The police officer was extracted with the "jaws of life" and taken to the hospital. © Stew Milne
A Providence police detective sits on a retaining wall near the scene of a police cruiser accident on Admiral Street near the intersection of Huxley Street in Providence, R.I., Thursday, April 19, 2012. © 2012 Stew Milne
Witnesses say the officer, Max Dorley, had his sirens on and a car in front of him pulled off to the right while another made a left turn in front him. Dorley had to swerve to miss hitting that vehicle and lost control, hitting the curb and becoming airborne.
Providence Police chief Col. Hugh Clements, Jr., talks on the phone at the scene of a police cruiser accident on Admiral Street near the intersection of Huxley Street in Providence, R.I., Thursday, April 19, 2012. © 2012 Stew Milne
A Providence police officer looks at the scene of a police cruiser accident on Admiral Street near the intersection of Huxley Street in Providence, R.I., Thursday, April 19, 2012. © 2012 Stew Milne
After extracting Dorley from the mangled vehicle, he was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Dorley leaves behind a wife and two children.
The head light of a police cruiser lies 100 feet from where the vehicle hit a utility pole on Admiral Street near the intersection of Huxley Street in Providence, R.I., Thursday, April 19, 2012. © 2012 Stew Milne