Published: July 05, 2008 10:54 pm         

Officer hit by car in St. Mary’s ICU care

An Enid Police Department officer struck by a car following the city’s fireworks display at Meadowlake Park Friday night remained hospitalized for observation Saturday, police said.

Officer Tom Corbin, a 17-year veteran of the force, was conducting traffic control at Cleveland and Rupe when he was hit by a 1991 Ford Escort traveling south on Cleveland and driven by David Colbentz.

Corbin was taken by Life EMS to St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center for incapacitating injuries to his head, body, arms and legs, according to an Enid police report.

Sgt. Quent Tubbs said Cor-bin was in the intensive care unit at the hospital Saturday afternoon and was in stable condition.

According to a police report, Colbentz, 27, of Enid, told police as he approached the intersection the stoplight was green and he saw flashing lights. Colbentz said he asked passengers in the car what the lights were for and then struck Corbin in the street. The accident occurred about 10:55.

Officers said the lights from Corbin’s unit — parked on Rupe just east of the intersection to block traffic from going east on Rupe toward the park — could be seen 108 feet from the area where Corbin was hit, the report states.

The stoplights were in regular working order while the officer was directing traffic to ease the flow from the fireworks show, which was attended by hundreds, a police official said.

The passengers in Colbentz’s vehicle said they did not see Corbin in the roadway, according to the report.

Witnesses told police Cor-bin, who was wearing a reflective vest and had an orange cone on his flashlight, had al-lowed a northbound SUV to turn west onto Rupe from Cleveland just be-fore he was hit, according to the report.

“As this SUV turned west onto Rupe, its headlamps would have shined into the face of driver 1 (Colbentz) which may have contributed to him not seeing the officer in the roadway ...,” the report states.

Another witness behind the SUV told officers Corbin had directed him to turn, and as he started to do so Colbentz’s vehicle was there and Corbin appeared to try to side-step the vehicle.

After the vehicle hit the officer, Corbin was thrown approximately 10 feet from the point of impact, according to the report. Colbentz told officers he was traveling around the speed limit, which is 40 mph in that area.

Officers said the vehicle had a caved-in windshield and roof damage near the windshield where Corbin struck the Escort.

Diagrams in the report show trees line the sides of Cleveland north of the intersection, the direction from which Colbentz was approaching, and there are no street lights in the area.

Measurements taken at the scene indicate once the lights of Corbin’s vehicle could be seen past the trees by southbound vehicles, Colbentz would not have had enough time to come to a complete stop traveling at 40 mph, the report states.

However, Colbentz said he did not see the officer, and there were not skid marks before impact to indicate he had slowed.

According to the report, Colbentz’s condition at the time of the incident was listed as “normal.”

The incident remains under investigation. No citations had been issued as of Saturday.