Officer hospitalized after head-on crash in Southwest Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A police officer is in stable condition after a head-on crash Saturday night in Southwest Philadelphia.

It happened just after 7 p.m. at 59th Street and Kingsessing Avenue.

The officer was driving westbound on Kingsessing when the driver of a Ford Taurus traveling eastbound on Kingsessing Avenue slammed into the patrol car.

Before the crash, police say they observed the driver disregarding a red traffic signal at 61st Street and Kingsessing Avenue.

When officers attempted to stop the vehicle for running the red light, the driver drove off eastbound on Kingsessing Ave. That's when the officers heard the crash and noticed that the driver crashed into the patrol car.

The officers who attempted to pullover the driver, responded to the crash scene as the man was getting out of his vehicle. He did not comply with the officers' verbal commands to "stop", and began to resist arrest. During the struggle the man punched one of the officers in the back of the head. One of the officers then deployed his taser. The man fell to the ground but got back up. The taser was then deployed a second time.

Police were able to take the 21-year-old man into custody without further incident.

Both the officer and the driver were taken to the hospital.

The officer was treated for minor injuries.

The condition of the driver is still unknown.

Charges against the driver are pending.