LAPD officer struck by car while trying to find robbery suspect

SYLMAR, Calif. (FOX 11 / CNS) - A Los Angeles police officer was hospitalized this morning after being struck by a vehicle while helping sheriff's deputies find a robbery suspect in Sylmar, authorities said.

The accident took place about 3 a.m. close to the intersection of Eldridge Avenue and Hubbard Street, near El Cariso Community Regional Park and Los Angeles Mission College, according to Lt. Rich Burgoyne of the sheriff's
Parks Bureau and Sgt. Steve Gottschalk of the Los Angeles Police Department's Mission Division.

"The officer was assisting our deputies to set up a perimeter for a robbery suspect that went into the (El Cariso) park and (he) was struck by a civilian car,'' Burgoyne said.

"The officer was injured while assisting deputies,'' Gottschalk added. "He was hospitalized after the accident and remains there in stable condition. His injuries were not life-threatening.''

The driver who struck the officer remained at the scene, according to the sheriff's department.

There were no immediate reports on the fate of the robbery suspect.