A Springdale police officer was hospitalized Wednesday afternoon after driving his squad car into a ditch.
Emergency crews responded to the intersection of Powell Street and Don Tyson Parkway at 2:34 p.m. in reference to a crash involving a police car. Emergency medical services workers on the scene loaded officer Mark Smith from the scene of a wreck onto a stretcher and into a nearby ambulance.
Smith, a 15-year veteran with Springdale police, is undergoing treatment, and is conscious and alert at Northwest Medical Center in Springdale, according to the Springdale Police Department.
Police said the officer had to be extricated from the vehicle by the Springdale Fire Department. He appeared to have scrapes on his face as he was strapped onto a stretcher.
A driver who witnessed the crash called 911.
“It appears the officer suffered a medical emergency while driving, which caused him to go off the roadway and into a ditch,” according to a statement released by Springdale police late Wednesday afternoon.
Smith’s squad car was traveling at about 30 miles per hour when it left the roadway, according to the statement.
