Update (Friday, Dec. 16, 1 p.m.): The Chevy Chase Village police officer driving the police car that overturned on Thursday evening, Dec. 15, at Brookville Road and Thornapple Street sustained no injuries in the collision, which was caused by another driver, according to Chief John Fitzgerald of the Chevy Chase Village police.

Officer Deng Tan was traveling north on Brookville Road in a Chevy Chase Village police car at about 8 p.m. when the driver of a minivan traveling west on Thornapple Street entered the intersection (from the east) of Brookville Road and Thornapple Street prematurely, hitting Tan’s car, Fitzgerald said.

The right-front corner of Tan’s police car struck the left-front corner of the minivan. The collision forced the police car to swerve to the left, hitting the western curb of Brookville Road and a retaining wall, which caused the car to flip over. 

The driver of the minivan was issued a ticket for causing the accident. Both cars were traveling at a low speed, Fitzgerald said.

Tan was wearing a seat belt at the time of the collision, and the air bags deployed. A bystander broke a back window in the police car, which enabled Tan to crawl out of the car.

The minivan spun in a clockwise direction, severing the top off of a fire hydrant, but not causing the hydrant to leak.

Tan was driving to the Montgomery County police fueling station near the intersection of East-West Highway and Grubb Road at the time of the collision, Fitzgerald added.

The intersection has limited sight distance for westbound drivers approaching the crossroads on Thornapple Street from the east, Fitzgerald added.

Both Tan and the driver of the minivan were transported to the hospital, from which they were later discharged.

Because the collision occurred outside of Chevy Chase Village, Montgomery County police led its investigation.

The police car was one of the oldest cars in the Chevy Chase Village fleet, and is likely totaled, according to Fitzgerald.

Still, “we’re fortunate,” Fitzgerald added.

“When a car rolls over on its roof, it’s pretty dramatic. … We’re thankful no one was hurt.”

Original post (Thursday, Dec. 15, 8 p.m.): An overturned police car at the intersection of Thornapple Street and Brookville Road in Chevy Chase caused road closures and traffic backups during the late-evening rush hour on Thursday, Dec. 15, according to the Montgomery County police.

No injuries have been reported from this incident, which resulted from a collision.