By Dana Hedgpeth September 14 at 9:20 AM
A Fairfax County police officer pleaded no contest in an
accident with a minivan that occurred as he was speeding in a cruiser without
emergency equipment on.
Officials said the incident involving Officer Pshko Siteki,
who has been on the force for two years, happened Feb. 18. Siteki was heading
to a call for a disorderly conduct incident when his cruiser struck a minivan
near Leesburg Pike and Patrick Henry Drive in the Seven Corners area.
On Thursday, Siteki made the no-contest plea in Fairfax
County District Court and was fined $250 by a judge.
Siteki did not have the emergency equipment on his cruiser
in use during the incident although he was driving 68 miles per hour in an area
where the speed limit is 40 miles per hour, police said. The driver of the
minivan, a 53-year-old man, and the officer were taken to a hospital. The
minivan driver had extensive injuries, officials said.
Siteki had been served a summons for a misdemeanor of
reckless driving.
There was an in-car video system in the officer’s cruiser
but because of the damage from the crash police were unable to retrieve it.
In a statement when the incident happened, Fairfax County
Police Chief Edwin C. Roessler Jr. said, “We take the safety of our officers
and members of this community very seriously.”
Officials said they have placed Siteki on “restricted duty
without police powers, pending the outcome of the ongoing administrative
investigation.” Siteki had been on administrative leave following the crash.