A car crashed into a home late Thursday after dragging an Orlando police officer as the driver and two passengers tried to flee a traffic stop, investigators said.
Two men were arrested at the crash site, but the search is on for a third man who was inside the car.
It happened Thursday night on Lescot Lane off Raleigh Street in the Carver Shores neighborhood, east of Kirkman Road and Valencia College.
Police said it started with a traffic stop on Frazier Avenue. Investigators said that turned into a drug investigation, but as the officer tried to get the driver out of the car, the driver put it in gear, dragging the officer for at least a block.
Police said 87-year-old William Rigell, who lives in a home at the end of Lescot Lane, had just gotten out of his car and was walking in the door, when the car crashed into his home, missing him by only a few feet. The police officer dragged by the car was able to let go before it crashed into the home.
"I'm just glad nobody got hurt, because that would have even been worse," said Kennis Wilson, the homeowner's son. "The house — if they rebuild it, or if they don't — it's a material thing."
Police said they were able to capture two of the suspects in a nearby wooded area behind the elderly couple's home. Those two men were treated at a nearby hospital for minor injuries before being booked into jail.
"Anybody could have been in the way and they would have killed [them]. They wouldn't have cared the way they got out and run," Rigell said.
The suspects were not immediately identified, but police said the driver faces multiple felony charges. Investigators said they found drugs and a gun in the car.
Police said the third man got away, but they know who he is. No description of the man on the run was immediately released.
As for the dragged police officer, he was treated at the hospital for injuries to his arms and legs, but he has since been sent home to recover.