Two police officers hospitalised after driver ploughed into their cop car and sparked huge inferno that ripped through vehicle as man ‘who ran away from scene’ is arrested

Two police officers are in hospital after a driver ploughed into their cop car causing it to catch fire, as a man who ‘ran away from the scene’ is arrested. 

The police car was on blue lights when a Volkswagen Passat ‘speed collided’ with it in Prenton, Wirral, on Friday at around 8.55pm. 

Both officers were able to get out of the vehicle before the police car caught fire.

The driver of the VW is said to have ‘ran away from the scene’. He was found and taken to hospital with the two police officers. 

Merseyside Police say the suspect was discharged from hospital and then arrested for failing to stop at the scene of a road traffic collision and failure to provide a breath test at the scene. 

Two polices officers are in hospital after a driver ploughed into their cop car causing it to catch fire, as a man who ‘ran away from the scene’ is arrested

The police car was on blue lights when a Volkswagen Passat ‘speed collided’ with it in Prenton, Merseyside

Police said the officers involved were taken to hospital suffering from back and neck injuries.

Videos circulating on social media show the police vehicle in flames on Woodchurch Road, while people look on outside a nearby pub. 

Eyewitnesses told the Liverpool Echo the police car had hit a bollard before catching fire. 

In a statement, a police spokesperson said: ‘At around 8.55pm, a marked police car, which was on its way to an emergency incident, and had its blue lights and siren on, was travelling along Woodchurch Road when a grey Volkswagen Passat travelling from the opposite direction at speed collided with the police car, which then caught fire.

In a statement, a police spokesperson said: ‘A grey Volkswagen Passat travelling from the opposite direction at speed collided with the police car, which then caught fire’

‘The driver of the Passat ran away from the scene following the collision and fortunately the two officers were able to get out of the police car before the fire took hold.’ 

The spokesperson said investigations are ongoing and the force is appealing for witnesses who saw the collision, or anyone who may have dashcam footage, to come forward.

Those with information can contact the police on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @MerPolCC or on the Merseyside Police Contact Centre Facebook page, quoting reference 1200 of September 8.