Officer seriously injured in crash on job

Staff report

BAZETTA

Champion Township Police Sgt. Jeff White was seriously injured Saturday morning when, he swerved to avoid another vehicle on North Park Avenue Extension, causing his cruiser to go off the left side of the road and overturn several times.

He was responding to assist the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Department at the time of the crash, at 7:39 a.m.

White was trapped inside his cruiser and had to be extricated by mechanical means before being transported to Trumbull Memorial Hospital in Warren with serious, but non-life threatening injuries, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol Warren Post.

White was traveling south on North Park to assist deputies in apprehending a suspect who crashed his vehicle at the intersection of state Route 88 and North Park, fled on foot and stole a gun from another vehicle in the area. The suspect fled into the woods near state Route 45 and Bristol-Champion Townline Road where a manhunt ensued and the suspect was taken into custody without incident.

Assisting at the scene were personnel from Champion and Bazetta police and fire departments and the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Department.

The OSHP is investigating the crash involving White.