Suspected Drunk Smashes into LAPD Cruiser, Officers Injured

Two LAPD officers were hospitalized early Wednesday after an alleged drunk driver crashed into the back of their patrol car in South Los Angeles and then fled the scene.

The officers were on routine patrol when the incident occurred at about 12:40 a.m. on South Vermont Avenue near West 75th Street, Sgt. Jeremy Duncan of LAPD 's South Traffic Division told the Los Angeles Times .

The collision rendered the patrol car inoperable and the suspect "took off, fled the scene," Duncan said.

The 36-year-old suspect, identified by authorities as Nathaniel Strother, was caught about five minutes later a couple of blocks from LAPD's 77th Street Station.