Gilbert police officer seriously injured in collision while off-duty

PHOENIX – A Phoenix-area police officer was seriously injured in a collision while he was off-duty early Sunday.

Gilbert Police Sgt. Tom Edgerton was hit while riding his personal motorcycle on the southbound Loop 101 Pima Freeway near Talking Stick Way in Scottsdale around 1:30 a.m., authorities said.

Edgerton was hospitalized in serious but stable condition with several broken bones, including a broken neck, police said.

The driver of the pickup truck that hit Edgerton did not stay at the scene.

The Scottsdale Police Department located the Toyota Tacoma at a convenience store near McDonald Drive and Granite Reef Road.

Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers responded to the location and arrested the driver, 23-year-old Colton Sattler of Oceanside, California.

According to court documents, Sattler said he hit something while changing lanes but didn’t know what. He said he initially stopped in the gore point of the next freeway exit but decided to move the truck to a safer spot.

He said he’d had a few drinks, according to the probable cause statement. His blood-alcohol level registered at .079, just below the legal limit of .08, in a preliminary breath test. Troopers also performed field sobriety tests and obtained a warrant to draw blood. Results of the blood test are pending.

He was booked on charges of aggravated assault and leaving the scene of an injury accident.

The investigation is ongoing, and he could still face a DUI charge depending on the findings.

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