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Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are trying to determine what caused a crash early Wednesday morning that left an officer in critical condition at an area hospital.
Officer Joe Willinsky, a member of the force for about 13 months, was injured when his patrol car crashed about 3:45 a.m. on Fairview Road, a short distance east of Sharon Lane and SouthPark Mall.
Willinsky remained in critical condition early Wednesday afternoon at Carolinas Medical Center, police say.
CMPD Officer Robert Fey, a spokesman for the department, said Willinsky had been responding to a priority call received at 3:36 a.m., reporting a possible vehicle break-in at the Strawberry Hill Apartments, off Providence Road. Willinsky was eastbound on Fairview Road, between Sharon Road and Cameron Valley Parkway, when he somehow lost control of the vehicle and crashed.
Fey said a passing motorist called 911 at 3:45 a.m., reporting that a police vehicle had crashed. The caller said the car had caught fire, and that the officer was lying next to the car, breathing but unconscious.
Streets were dry at the time, as rain didn't begin until about 4:45 a.m. in the area.
"Officer Willinsky was ejected from the vehicle," Deputy Chief Harold Medlock said.
A man who works at a nearby store said he saw the patrol car but hadn't realized it had crashed.
"I looked out the window and saw the car just sitting there with the lights on," the man told WCNC-TV, the Observer's news partner. The man said he initially thought "police had pulled someone over."
But when he served another customer a few minutes later through the drive-through window, he still saw the car with the lights flashing, but also saw smoke coming from the front of the car.
"It was just there with smoke coming from it and then it caught on fire," the man told WCNC.
Medlock said Chief Rodney Monroe and a number of other police officials visited the wreck scene initially, then went to the hospital, to join members of Willinsky's family.
WCNC-TV contributed.
