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Tempe Police Commander Mike Ringo involved in hit and run accident?
Tempe cops cover up Tempe Police Commander Mike Ringo hit and run accident? Remember that Tempe cop that allegedly blacked out and crashed into a bus stop and almost killed a homeless man? I talked to a bus driver last night (Thu June 2, 2005) who told me it was a hit and run accident. She said the 65 bus driver witnessed the accident along with a number of passengers. She said that the Tempe cop was on his way to work driving his own car and dressed up in his cop uniform. He then crashed into the bus stop almost killing a homeless man. She said that the cop then fled and drove off. A number of passengers on the 65 bus along with the driver said they saw the accident according to her. She said that a person on the 65 bus got off the bus and flagged down a car in a parking lot. These two people in the car followed the cop for about a mile or so and stopped him. They didn’t know that he was a cop until they stopped him. She said they then forced the cop to go back to the scene of the accident. I don’t remember all of the stuff she said after that. But she did tell me that the Tempe cops at the scene tried to cover it up. She told me that a cop told the passengers on the bus not to talk to the media. She also told me not to use her name and she appeared to be scared. And she was pretty angry about what happened.
May. 18, 2005 10:40 AM
Police official blacks out, crashes A Tempe Police commander blacked out and crashed his car, injuring a man waiting at a bus stop Tuesday night. Commander Mike Ringo, a 27-year-veteran of the force who helps oversee police patrol in the north part of the city, was driving north on Kyrene Road when the accident happened just before 7:30 p.m., police said. It is unclear if he was on duty.. Ringo was approaching Guadalupe Road in south Tempe when he drove a 1996 Chevy Lumina into the road's east curb. The impact deflated the right, front tire, police said. The vehicle continued north with Ringo unconscious at the wheel, according to police. It entered the Kyrene and Guadelupe roads' intersection, then jumped the curb. The car careened into a concrete parking bench and struck Michael Craig Buehler. Two of Buehler's legs were broken, and possibly his back. The 56-year-old transient also has a concussion, police said, but he is expected to survive. He is being treated at Maricopa Medical Center. Ringo was transported to Tempe St. Luke's Hospital. He received treatment for the "condition that prompted the collision," police said. He is listed in good condition. Investigators have determined Ringo's vehicle was traveling less than 40 miles an hour when the crash happened. They will continue to investigate. Reach the reporter at katie.nelson@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-7966.
The article didn't mention that Tempe Police Commander Mike Ringo left the scene of the accident. The sources I have say that Tempe Police Commander Mike Ringo's car was found a half mile to a mile away from the scene of the accident. |