When police officers are looking for you, it's usually not a good thing -- but not in Carrollton, where police are looking for a Good Samaritan who disappeared before officer could thank him.
Officer Matt Bonner was involved in an accident on the corner of Old Denton Road and Whitlock Lane on Wednesday morning.
The driver of another vehicle T-boned Bonner's squad car on the driver side. The wreck sent both cars careening in different directions.
Police said Wednesday that the cause of the crash is under investigation.
Carrollton's dispatch received a radio call from a badly injured Bonner. At the time, Lt. Doug Mitchell was listening to the radio calls.
"I knew instantly that he was hurt," Mitchell said. "I didn't know what the circumstances were, I didn't know where, but I knew we had an officer hurt somewhere. A hundred things went though your mind. Has he been shot? Has he been run over? You don't know."
The dispatcher was able to understand Bonner's distress call and sent officers to his location. But a few seconds later, another voice was heard over the officer's radio.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
"We're a close-knit family," Mitchell said. "We know who's on the radio by voice, and I knew it was a civilian, and I knew by the way he was talking, he was a civilian."
The voice told dispatch, "Uh, Officer Bonner is down! Badly! Can you come to Whitlock and Old Denton Road, right by the intersection?"
The man had grabbed Bonner's radio and called in to make sure dispatchers knew where he was and that the officer needed help.
Emergency crews arrived a few minutes later and secured the scene. Bonner was taken to Parkland Medical Center and was stable.
The driver of the other vehicle, Kristopher Panagakis, was taken to the hospital and is expected to be fine.
Mitchell said while officers on the scene were worried about their fellow injured officer, they allowed the Good Samaritan to leave without saying "thank you."
Mitchell said he hopes the man will come forward so officers can properly thank him for helping one of their own.
Witnesses said the Good Samaritan was a middle-aged man with graying hair, a beard or goatee and glasses.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Carrollton police's nonemergency line at 972-466-3333.
