Officer falls asleep at wheel, hits two cars

PHOENIX -- An officer coming off shift apparently fell asleep at the wheel and hit two cars as she was driving home Wednesday morning.
Off-duty police officer causes head-on collision

It happened at about 7:45 a.m. at the intersection of Seventh and Oak streets. Police said Imelda Mendoza, having just ended her patrol shift, was off duty and on her way home. The average police shift is 10 hours.

Mendoza, who was driving a grey Pontiac Grand Am, clipped the back of a Subaru Outback and then slammed head-on into a Honda Civic, police said.

Rescue crews had to extricate Mendoza and the driver of the Honda, Melissa Mitscher, from their cars.

Video from the scene showed the mangled Honda and the badly damaged Pontiac.

Both Mendoza and Mitscher were rushed to the hospital. Each woman suffered a non-life threatening leg injury. Both are expected to recover.

The driver of the Subaru, Todd Sussman, was not hurt.

The intersection of Seventh and Oak streets was closed during the investigation and until the wreck could be cleared.

Mendoza, a Phoenix police officer with three years of experience, will be cited for failure to control speed to avoid a collision.