A police officer was injured during a vehicle collision early this morning in Lowertown Paducah.
Paducah Police Chief Brandon Barnhill said Officer Austin Guill, 25, is in serious but stable condition after being airlifted to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville.
Barnhill said officers were called to the Lowertown District around 1:00 AM after reports that a light-colored minivan ran a stop sign at an intersection and sideswiped two vehicles.
Following a police pursuit, the minivan drove through another intersection and t-boned Guil’s police cruiser at the corner of 7th and Madison streets. Guill was treated for injuries at the scene.
Barnhill said the 49-year-old driver, Terry Murray, homeless (formerly of San Diego), fled the scene on foot but was apprehended hiding nearby in a commercial dumpster by police K-9 units.
Murray has been charged with First Degree Assault of a Police Officer, Fleeing or Evading Police in a Motor Vehicle, Receiving Stolen Property Under $10,000, Giving an Officer a False Name or Address, Leaving the Scene of an Accident and Being a Fugitive From Another State. Additional charges are pending.
An investigation is underway into whether Murray was under the influence of drugs or alcohol and if the collision was intentional.
A collision reconstruction team closed the intersection for several hours this morning to investigate.
