N.C. Officer Seriously Injured in Crash with Suspected Drunk Driver

Dec. 30, 2021

An alleged impaired driver faces multiple charges after he collided with a Durham K-9 police officer's patrol car and then tried to flee the scene on foot.

By Aaron Sánchez-Guerra

Source The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)

A Durham, NC, K-9 police officer was seriously injured Wednesday when his patrol car was struck by a suspected drunk driver.

A Durham K-9 police officer was seriously injured Wednesday night after a suspected drunk driver hit his patrol car, police said Thursday.

Officer B.K. Gardner is hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, police said in a news release.

Garnder was driving about 10:50 p.m. on Guess Road in a 2016 Dodge Charger when a 2016 Chevrolet Silverado driven by Byron Cinto-Lopez pulled out from a stop sign in front of Gardner's vehicle.

After the collision, Cinto-Lopez fled on foot from the scene but was taken into custody by DPD.

Cinto-Lopez, 33, was arrested and charged with driving while impaired, felony hit-and-run and no operator's license, according to a news release.

Police investigators filed additional charges against him Thursday for aggravated felony serious injury by vehicle, driving while license revoked for DWI and failure to yield right of way.

Cinto-Lopez was not injured and was jailed last night under a $7,500 bond, where records show he remained Thursday.

Gardner's assigned police dog, Choco, was not with him in the car at the time of the crash. Gardner and Choco, a Belgian Malinois, graduated for K9 training in 2018, according to a DPD report.

Choco is trained in the areas of tracking, narcotics detection, handler protection and article and building searches.

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