3 hospitalized after collision involving a Placentia police vehicle

PLACENTIA — A police officer responding to a house fire call Sunday ended up in a collision with another vehicle at a Placentia intersection, a sergeant said.

It happened about 11:45 a.m. in the intersection of La Jolla Street and Melrose Avenue, Placentia police Sgt. Chris Anderson said.

The officer was heading east on La Jolla Street with lights and sirens on. He came to a stop before entering the intersection and when he went through it, the officer collided with a Nissan Frontier, Anderson said.

There were five people in the Nissan, all of whom suffered minor injuries, Anderson said. Three of them were hospitalized.

The officer was not hurt, Anderson said. Both the patrol car and the Nissan were damaged.

The California Highway Patrol was handling the investigation, Anderson said.

The initial report of a house fire turned out to be smoke from a backyard barbecue.

Anyone who witnessed the crash was asked to call Placentia police at 714-993-8153, Tipsters can also call Orange County Crime Stoppers at (855) TIP-OCCS.