Landis officer hurt when cruiser crashes into tree

Roger Hosey

Staff report

A Landis police officer responding to a call for assistance was injured when his cruiser crashed into a tree and burned early Thursday evening.

A nearby resident pulled Officer Roger Lee Hosey from the car.

Hosey, 28, was responding to a call for help from an animal control officer who reportedly had a gun pointed at him, said Trooper C.F. Rogers of the N.C. Highway Patrol.

Hosey and a Rowan Sheriff's deputy responded to the call for assistance on Freeze Road off of Smith Road in Enochville around 5 p.m.

As Hosey traveled south on Freeze Road and rounded a slight curve, he ran off the road to the right, overcorrected, ran off the road to the left and hit a tree, Rogers said.

The car caught on fire. Hosey undid his seatbelt but was still trapped in the vehicle, Rogers said.

Neighbors who heard the crash helped him out of the car. Rogers said the 2009 Ford Crown Victoria the officer was driving was a total loss.

Rogers said Hosey, of China Grove, was in and out of consciousness and was taken to Carolinas Medical Center-NorthEast.

Hosey sustained head injuries, according to Landis Town Administrator Reed Linn, and was undergoing tests at the hospital. A hospital spokeswoman said Thursday night Hosey had been treated and released.

Hosey ran unsuccessfully for the China Grove Board of Aldermen in 2007.

Linn said Hosey was responding outside the town limits through a mutual aid agreement with the Sheriff's Office. Linn said Hosey was running both the blue light and siren when he crashed.

Efforts to determine what happened with the Animal Control officer situation were unsuccessful.