Reality TV Gets Very Real

The crew for the Fox show COPS got a little closer to the action than they probably wanted to:

A Portland police patrol car carrying two crew members from the television show "Cops" collided with another car Tuesday night, police said.

A Subaru Outback traveling in the opposite direction drifted into the lane of the patrol car and hit the officer's car head-on, said Detective Mary Wheat of the Portland Police Bureau. The Subaru rolled over onto its top.

Officer Jeffrey Ruppel and the Subaru driver, 63-year-old Robert King, were taken to local hospitals, Wheat said. The two TV crew members, whose names haven't been released, were also taken to the hospital. Wheat said alcohol likely factored in the wreck, which occurred at Southeast 136th Avenue and Stark Street at about 9 p.m.

Police said Ruppel was on routine patrol and not responding to a report of a crime.

Ruppel and one of the "Cops" passengers were released from the hospital Wednesday, but the other passenger is still in the hospital with serious head injuries. Wheat said King also remains hospitalized.

Those guys are in the middle of all kinds of stuff every day. I'm surprised this hasn't happened more often.