CARROLLTON — A Carrollton police officer was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas Wednesday morning after he was pinned in his squad car following a crash.
Officer Matt Bonner was working on a special traffic enforcement project when the accident happened at the intersection of Old Denton Road and Whitlock Lane shortly before 10:30 a.m.
The officer's squad car took a direct hit on the driver's side, trapping him inside.
"There was very obvious bruising and contusions on his neck," said witness Tim Bailey.
Bailey, an Irving security guard, was walking his dog and was just feet away when the accident happened.
He said Bonner was groggy and losing consciousness when he called for help on the emergency radio.
"481 needs an ambulance," Bonner was heard to say on a recording of the transmission, clearly struggling to then give his location: "Old Denton and Keller Springs."
The dispatcher radioed back to check on Bonner and got no response.
But seconds later, Bailey grabbed the microphone to describe the urgent situation.
"Bonner is down, badly! Please come to Whitlock and Old Denton Road, right in the intersection," the Good Samaritan said, adding: "Hang in there, officer."
Carrollton police Lt. Doug Mitchell said hearing a civilian's voice on a police radio is extremely rare and deeply troubling.
"When you hear that, it goes from zero to a hundred in a split-second," he said.
Officer Bonner did lose consciousness, but suffered non-life threatening injuries and was last reported in stable condition after emergency personnel cut him out of his squad car.
The driver of the other car, identified at Kristopher Panagakis of Little Elm, was taken to Baylor Medical Center of Carrollton in stable condition.
Police said the cause of the crash was under investigation.
E-mail spowell@wfaa.com and dschechter@wfaa.com and ccivale@wfaa.com
