A Surprise police officer is expected to recover after being injured in a collision while finishing up a traffic stop on Loop 303.
Around 11 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, the Arizona Department of Public Safety responded to a two-vehicle, serious injury collision involving a Surprise Police Department officer on northbound Loop 303 near Waddell Road.
Preliminary reports indicate the Surprise officer was finishing up a traffic stop in the area when a gray Hyundai Tucson SUV crashed into the back of the Surprise police vehicle.
DPS said the police officer sustained serious but non-life threatening injuries and was transported to a hospital.
The driver of the Tucson, a 30-year-old woman, also sustained serious but non-life threatening injuries and was hospitalized.
DPS identified her as Kourtnie Melissa Chavez, of Waddell. She was released from the hospital and was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail in lieu of a $15,000 bond on charges of aggravated assault, endangerment, and DUI.
According to court documents, Ms. Chavez had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.29. She told DPS she had drank at home and was on her way to another house. Ms. Chavez claimed she didn't see the police vehicle's lights and didn't know she struck an officer until she was told.
A Surprise police spokesman said on Sunday that the officer is expected to fully recover. Another spokesman on Monday said the officer has been released from the hospital and is at home recovering.
The northbound lanes were closed but are now open.
