Redlands police officer hospitalized after patrol vehicle slams into power pole, causes outage

REDLANDS, Calif. (KABC) -- A Redlands police officer was hospitalized Friday morning after his patrol vehicle slammed into a power pole while he was responding to a report of a man with a gun, authorities said.

The crash happened about 3 a.m. near the intersection of Lugonia Avenue and Church Street, authorities said in a statement. The force of the impact sheared the pole, resulting in a power outage in the area.

News video from the scene showed the front end of the SUV in flames. The fire was extinguished and the officer was transported to a medical center with "broken bones and other major injuries," the Redlands Police Department said.

The cause of the collision is under investigation.