Officer seriously injured after being struck by driver of stolen car in Prince William County

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — A police officer is suffering from serious injuries after the driver of a stolen car drove directly towards them resulting in the officer being struck Thursday night in Woodbridge.

At 10:06 p.m., officers with the Prince William County Police Department responded to a 7-Eleven, located on Darbydale Avenue off of Minnieville Road, to investigate a report of a stolen vehicle. Just before 11 p.m., an officer located the stolen vehicle with someone inside on Oust Lane, off of Dale Boulevard. The officer then attempted to make contact with the driver.

As the officer was at the driver's side window, the driver sped away and made a U-turn. The driver then drove the vehicle directly towards the officer at a high rate of speed, the officer then fired their handgun before the officer was struck by the suspect vehicle. The driver then lost control of the vehicle and crashed a short distance away before running away.

Police said the officer sustained serious injuries from the incident and is being treated at an area hospital.

During an extensive search of the area, around 1:30 a.m. on Friday, the suspect was located and detained in the area of Dale Boulevard and Princedale Drive by investigators. According to the police department, the suspect did not appear to have sustained injuries from the gunfire during the encounter with the officer.

The name of the officer, along with the suspect in the incident, have not been released yet. The investigation remains active and ongoing.