KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. — An on-duty Kill Devil Hills police officer was hurt in a crash Friday morning.
The accident took place around 10:30 a.m. at US 158 and 5th Street, right in front of the K-Mart.
According to North Carolina Highway Patrol, the officer was traveling north on routine patrol when a 2018 Subaru in the southbound lanes turned left at the intersection in front of her vehicle.
The Subaru hit the officer's vehicle and both spiraled out of control, with the officer's vehicle hitting a traffic light pole head-on.
Both drivers went to the Outer Banks Hospital for medical evaluation. Kill Devil Hills Police Department said the officer was wearing her seatbelt, her ballistic vest and there was an airbag deployment. She has some of the expected bruising from a vehicle crash, but no serious injuries.
The other driver, 43-year-old Karen Collins, was also treated at the hospital and released.
Highway Patrol said the officer did have the right-of-way and charged Collins with one count of Unsafe Movement - Failure to See Before Turning.
According to Kill Devil Hills Police, it's standard policy the police department to ask an outside agency to conduct an independent investigation of circumstances surrounding any serious collision.
Crews are working to restore the traffic signal that was damaged in the crash, but at this time, the light is still not functioning. However, all lanes are open.
Police encourage drivers to use heightened awareness when traveling in the area until the light is back up and running.