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Drivers take out 2 cruisers

Officers stop at an accident scene not long before two drivers wreak more havoc.

By RITA FARLOW, Times Staff Writer
Published December 19, 2007

Two Largo cruisers are a total loss after being struck by two drivers early Sunday on U.S. 19. One officer came away unscathed while another and his dog were hurt.
	[Rita Farlow | Times]

Here's how crazy it can get on the streets of Pinellas County.

About midnight Saturday, a motorist whacked a light pole on U.S. 19, then two more drivers plowed into police cars parked at the scene.

One Largo police officer avoided injury by jumping out of the way of a Jeep going an estimated 60 mph.

But a second Largo officer and a police dog weren't so lucky. Both got banged up, but are expected to be okay.

Here's how it unfolded, according to law enforcement officials:

11:50 p.m. Saturday: Orson Coots, 49, of Clearwater, driving northbound in a 2006 Chevrolet, hits a concrete barrier just north of Ulmerton Road, then knocks down a street light. A Florida Highway Patrol trooper and Largo police respond.

Largo Officer Darren Cockeram directs traffic while the FHP officer investigates the crashed car. Cockeram parks his cruiser, with emergency lights flashing.

1:14 a.m. Sunday: By now, the scene is clearing, so Cockeram gets back into his cruiser. Almost immediately, he is broadsided by a white Honda four-door sedan driven by Nicole Kaylin Chappel, 20, of Palm Harbor. The impact spins around the cruiser. Fire and rescue personnel already at the scene start tending to Cockeram.

Now, somebody needs to direct traffic again. Largo canine Officer Jeff Rogers, who had arrived earlier, starts flagging approaching motorists away from the two crashed cars. He leaves Draco, his German shepherd canine partner, in the backseat of his cruiser, which is parked with emergency lights on.

1:17 a.m.: A northbound green Jeep Cherokee comes on the scene traveling at what officers estimate to be 60 mph. Rogers jumps aside and the Jeep slams into the back of his cruiser. The driver is Lowell Nottage, 34, whose last known address is in Palm Coast. The impact spins around the cruiser, Draco inside.

* * *

Coots, the driver in the first accident, was taken to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg and treated there. An investigation into that accident is ongoing, but the driver is not presumed to have been impaired, said Trooper Larry Coggins, a spokesman for the Highway Patrol.

Chappel, who hit the first cruiser, refused to take a Breathalyzer test but told Largo officers, according to reports, that she had a "few drinks" at a Christmas party and had taken Xanax, a prescribed anxiety medication. She was charged with driving under the influence, booked into the Pinellas County Jail and later released on bail.

Nottage, who hit the second police cruiser, was treated at Bayfront Medical Center for injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening, police said. His crash is still being investigated by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Officer Cockeram was treated at Largo Medical Center for minor injuries and released.

Draco was treated at Belcher Animal Clinic for facial abrasions.

Officer Rogers was not injured.

Sgt. George Edmiston, with Largo's traffic safety unit, said he couldn't recall another incident like this one. But it's not uncommon, he said, for drivers to hit marked cruisers at night.

"It's clearly a violation of the Move Over Law," he said, referring to the state law that requires drivers to switch lanes and slow down when they see an emergency vehicle parked on or beside a road.

Both cruisers are total losses. Their combined value: $80,000.

[Last modified December 18, 2007, 20:36:41]