Injured Atwater officer ‘improving’

An Atwater police officer injured earlier this week in a head-on collision was said to be “improving” Friday.

Officer David Sarginson, 39, was knocked unconscious Wednesday when his patrol vehicle collided with another car at East Bellevue Road and Granite Drive in Atwater. His exact injuries have not been released but described as “not life-threatening” by Atwater police Lt. Samuel Joseph.

The officer remained hospitalized Friday, Joseph said.

Sarginson and other officers were responding with their lights and sirens activated to assist detectives in a foot chase with suspected gang members, one of whom was believed to have been armed, the Police Department reported.

The driver of the other vehicle, 34-year-old David Macias Rodriguez, suffered injuries to his shoulder that were initially described as “major” but later were downgraded to “moderate,” according to the California Highway Patrol.

An update on his condition was not available Friday.

The CHP is investigating the incident, a standard practice whenever an Atwater officer is involved in a collision.

Sarginson has been with the department for nearly 13 years.

This story was originally published March 20, 2015 at 11:04 AM with the headline "Injured Atwater officer ‘improving’."