Cedar Rapids police are sorting through a pile of accident reports following the winter storms the last couple of days. One of the accidents happened around 11 A.M. Tuesday when officer Ron Faas was in the process of investigating an accident. While he was in his squad car with the emergency lights on, another vehicle went out of control and struck the rear of officer Faas’ car. The other driver, 52-year-old Elaine Minor of Cedar Rapids, was not hurt.
Officer Faas was taken to a Cedar Rapids hospital, treated and released. Minor was charged with failure to maintain control. There was significant damage to the squad car, and it was the fifth accident in a squad car while officers were investigating other accidents. Earlier in the day, officers Jeff Holst And Kevin Lukan were driving east on a Cedar Rapids city street when they had to veer off the road to avoid a collision with a city snowplow that failed to stop at an intersection. The squad car went off the road, striking a sign post and a utility pole. Officer Lukan was treated and released at a local hospital. The snowplow driver,
Dean Gillis, was charged with disobedience of a traffic control device. Damage to the squad car totaled $10,000. In all, Cedar Rapids Police responded to 56 property damage accidents on Monday, and 22 on Tuesday.