On-duty Huntington Beach police officer involved in multi-car crash, 6 hospitalized

Six individuals were hospitalized Sunday night following a multi-vehicle crash near Beach Boulevard and Yorktown Avenue involving an on-duty Huntington Beach police officer in a marked patrol vehicle.

Huntington Beach Police Department spokeswoman Jessica Cuchilla confirmed Monday morning an unidentified officer was driving one of the vehicles in the collision. Because the officer was on duty at the time, the matter is being investigated by the California Highway Patrol’s Westminster station.

Calls to the CHP Monday were not immediately returned.

City News service reported the crash was called in at 10:15 p.m. It was unclear then whether the officer may have been responding to a call and had his or her lights and siren activated at the time. A news videographer at the scene told CNS the officer’s SUV had sustained front-end damage and that the side door of a black Kia had also been damaged in the collision.

Six people were taken to area hospitals for treatment, although the extent of their injuries or whether the HBPD officer was one of those injured was not immediately known.

Traffic on Beach Boulevard was closed in both directions at Williams Drive, just north of the intersection, for several hours before reopening, the police department reported on social media following the crash.