Sonora Police Officer Injured in Sunday Afternoon T-Bone Crash

Officer Ron Watson Hospitalized After Sonora Car Crash Involving Patrol Car near Highway 49 and Shaws Flat Road

Sonora Police Officer Injured in Sunday Afternoon T-Bone Crash

Sonora, California: A Sonora Police Department officer was hospitalized after the patrol vehicle he was driving was t-boned by another car Sunday afternoon in Sonora.

The wreck occurred just after 4 p.m. on Highway 49 just north of Shaws Flat Road.

According to the California Highway Patrol Sonora-area office, Officer Ron Watson was driving a patrol vehicle north on Highway 49 in front of a silver Toyota SUV.

The officer activated his code 3 emergency response lights for about five seconds and began to make a U-turn.

Watson moved to the right side of the roadway in preparation for the U-turn.

The SUV driver assumed the patrol car was pulling over to the right shoulder and failed to slow down or stop for the emergency lights.

Watson steered left to complete the U-turn, but the right front of the SUV slammed into the driver’s door of the patrol vehicle.

The officer was taken to Adventist Health Sonora with a minor head injury to the left ear. He was treated and released.

The report said no one else was hurt.

The patrol vehicle acquired moderate damage, and the SUV sustained minor damage.