BATON ROUGE - Three Baton Rouge Police officers were severely injured in an overnight crash where a person believed to be driving drunk drove into a separate crash scene and hit the officers.

The wreck happened around 3 a.m. Saturday on I-10 East near College Drive.

Joseph White, 27, was arrested in connection with the crash, police told WBRZ Saturday morning.  White is charged with driving drunk, reckless operation and a series of charges for negligent injuring related to hitting the officers.

Police said White was driving erratically on I-10 eastbound before College.  A group of police officers were investigating a crash on I-10 in the area.  The officers and their police cruisers were in the left lane with emergency lights flashing because of the earlier wreck.  Police said White was speeding and drove into the crash scene, hitting the officers and police cruisers.

Two officers were hit by White's vehicle and a third was injured after White's vehicle slammed into the officer's police cruiser as the officer sat inside the vehicle.

The two officers hit by the vehicle were hurt badly, police said.  One officer sustained severe head injuries, police said.  The other officer had a broken leg, compound fracture.  The officer injured inside the cruiser had minor leg injuries, according to a police report obtained by WBRZ.

All three officers were rushed to a hospital and are recovering, police said Saturday morning.

White was more twice the legal limit.  Police said he had a blood alcohol content of .194.

White was also wanted on drug charges from the Shreveport area and will be held to face charges there, police said. 

East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome visited the officers in the hospital and shortly thereafter issued a statement regarding the incident and their conditions. The Mayor said: 

"Three officers with the Baton Rouge Police Department were seriously injured overnight after being hit by a drunk driver. This morning I visited the hospital where they were being treated.

I’m guardedly optimistic and encouraged that they will be on the path to recovery soon.

A special thank you to the doctors and medical team taking care of them. Please pray for the officers and their families during this time."

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