Long Beach Applauds Officer Who Crashed into Erratic Driver

A Long Beach Police officer says he was simply doing his job when he crashed his police cruiser into another car whose driver was having a seizure.

Officer Brian Eidens was reportedly on patrol on West Park Avenue Sunday night when he spotted a car just miss a 9/11 memorial.

“I looked in my rear view mirror and saw a car going over the fireman’s memorial on the center median,” Eidens said, according to WCBS.

The car’s driver, Frank Kelly, 37, was reportedly unconscious after suffering a seizure at the wheel and was dangerously close to several homes.

Eidans knew he had to stop the car and made the split-second decision to crash into it head-on, according to the report.

“Yeah there was a few seconds where I thought this was going to happen,” according to WABC.

After the crash, Eidens rescued Kelly, who was “still actively seizing,” according to the report. Eidens said he “turned him on the side, tried to get a safe airway,”

The rescue was all in a day’s work, according to Eidens, who reportedly said, “…it’s just part of the job, our job description.”

His courage is being applauded by his coworkers and community.

“I couldn’t be prouder. His humbleness, his concern for the operator of the other vehicle after,” said LBPD Commissioner Michael Tangney, according to the report.

Long Beach’s Marty Heed added, “The cop could have been hurt and a lot of people could have been hurt. Now, the only damage is to the car, and I think we’re ahead of the game.”

Kelly said he is especially grateful to Eidans for saving his life.

“Thank God he was in the right place at the right time,” Kelly said, according to WCBS. “It could have been a lot worse.”

Photo: WABC

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