WARSAW — A local police officer was seriously injured Monday morning in a three-vehicle accident on US 30 in Warsaw.

First Sgt. Larry Holderman, 61, an officer with the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office who lives in Warsaw, was taken to a Fort Wayne hospital with serious injuries. Holderman suffered a laceration to the head and had neck and back pain. He was released from the hospital Monday evening and is recovering at home. The vehicle he was driving was a department-issued vehicle. 

The accident happened at about 10:49 a.m. and was a chain reaction crash involving three eastbound vehicles.

According to an accident report, Jeffrey Shipe, 62, of CR 35, Waterloo, told police he was not paying attention and when he looked up he was unable to stop in time before hitting Holderman’s vehicle, which was slowing down in anticipation of a red light at the Parker Street intersection.

The forward momentum of the crash then pushed Holderman’s car forward and into a third vehicle driven by Leonard Morris, 68, of CR 23, Goshen, that was stopped at the light.

Shipe agreed to submit to a blood test, which is normal procedure for a driver who is believed to have caused a crash involving serious bodily injury. The results are pending.

Holderman suffered a head injury. He was able to tell police afterward that he does not remember the crash happening.

Warsaw Police investigated the accident.

The combined damage estimate for the three vehicles was listed to be up to $25,000.