Officials tell Action News that the crashes happened just before 6 a.m. along Macdade Blvd. near Sylvania Ave.
Officer Jason McDevitt, an 8-year veteran of the Ridley Township Police force, lost control and hit a utility pole near MacDade and Kossuth. His cruiser flipped over and sheared the pole.
Police say another driver, 25-year-old Paul Vonhagen of Aston, did not see the dangling pole and it speared his car, going through the windshield and coming back out the rear window, just behind the driver's side.
Von Hagen, the driver of the light colored car, says just because he's lucky, doesn't mean he's not a little bit annoyed by the whole thing."I was kind of mad; I was like, 'you can't be serious.' Why is there a pole in my car right now? It was just ridiculous," Von Hagen said.
The 25-year-old missed a direct hit in the face, by less than a foot.
Medics say the driver of the civilian car suffered only very minor injuries. Officer McDevitt was taken to the hospital for treatment but is expected to be OK.
The hood of a tractor trailer was also damaged by the downed wires.
The real reason, though, Paul was upset is that the car he totalled was his sister's.
He says she didn't react well when he called to tell her a pole went through her windshield, until she found out about the seriousness of the accident.
As Ridley police continue working to find out exactly why McDevitt lost control of his squad car, Vanessa Von Hagen, Paul's sister, says she's just happy the officer and her little brother are OK.
"I'd rather have my brother than my car," Vanessa said.
