A Thursday morning accident sent a Murphysboro patrolman to the hospital and left investigators scratching their heads after the officer’s cruiser left the road and struck a porch at a residence in the north west end of Murphysboro.
Murphysboro Police and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department responded at approximately 9:30 a.m. to the home at 1925 Gartside St., where they found Patrolman Mike Hopkins’ cruiser wedged against the porch and a barely lucid Hopkins still behind the wheel, the rear tires still spinning as the engine raced.
Hopkins was transported to St. Joseph’s Memorial Hospital where he remained as of Friday morning, undergoing tests to determine what caused the apparent blackout.
“They don’t know why it swerved over here and hit the fence,” said owner Darrell Skeens, immediately after the crash. Skeens and Christie Burgett own the home where Chelsea Burgett lives with her boyfriend Ron Potter, neither of whom was home at the time.
“Whatever happened... he was still in a daze when he came out of the car. I don’t think he even recognized anybody at that point. He really took a lick...It was something medical that happened, they just haven’t figured it out yet,” said Mayor Ron Williams Friday, but who was also on the scene Thursday.
Williams talked to Hopkins Thursday night and said he’s complaining of back pain and general soreness, but also broke a couple of teeth and required stitches in his lips.
“They have not determined yet what caused this. They don’t know if he blacked out or if there was possibly a mini stroke, no one has determined that yet,” Williams said Friday. “They’ve tested everything that can be tested, blood tests and everything. There is nothing as of this morning that they had found.”
Damage to the home is not entirely known at this time but the crash pushed the porch to the side about a foot and damaged the door frame and concrete steps, and wiped out a large portion of a privacy fence.
This accident, however, isn’t the first near the home.
“I think this house just has a bad omen,” said Skeens, remembering the time four years ago when the younger Burgett’s Camaro was totaled as it sat in front of the house when a driver hit it. And two years before that their neighbor’s car was totaled as it sat next door when a driver lost control at the stop sign. Then there was the time when they were almost hit by a boat that had fallen off a trailer.
“I heard this big loud crash and come out here and there was a boat laying in the front yard,” said Skeens.
The investigation continues into this most recent accident, but police say they are working on the assumption that a medical condition led to the crash.
“We’re fortunate that Mike wasn’t hurt more,” said Williams. “We just have to find out now what caused the thing.”