RANLO, N.C. — A Ranlo Police officer was rushed to the hospital after a crash Monday night in Gaston County.
The crash happened just before 8:30 p.m. along the 3200 block of Lowell Road.
The police chief told NBC Charlotte an officer was on his way to a call when one of his tires rolled up onto a curb, which caused the officer to crash into a power pole.
The officer was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The chief said he was investigating whether the officer was looking at his computer terminal before he crashed into the pole.
In dispatch audio, the officer involved in the crash radioed to the dispatcher, "And if you could, could you see if another unit is handling that escort? I was en-route to it. Y'all gave me that call. I looked down at my paper for a second, and that's when I hit the pole."
There were no national statistics readily available for how many police officers caused crashes because they were distracted. While North Carolina law forbids people from texting and driving, it carves out an exception for first responders, including police officers.
NBC Charlotte contacted the chief for an update to the investigation, but the chief hasn't responded back yet.
The identity of the officer was not released.