Tampa Police officer remains in critical after crash

Tampa, Florida-- A police officer assigned to work with students at Stewart Middle School is in critical condition following a car crash while on vacation in Mexico.

Officer Andrea Law was on a Caribbean cruise aboard the Carnival Ship Legend, and was with five other friends who rented a jeep in Cozumel when the vehicle was involved in a head on collision Wednesday afternoon.

Tampa Police report Officer Law was ejected from the vehicle and flown by AeroMed jet back to Tampa for emergency surgery.

"She's critical, very critical condition, so the next days will tell," said Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor. "She's young, very healthy, and people recover from crashed like this, so we're very hopeful."

Students at Stewart Middle School Magnet learned of the crash, and had a moment of silence during class Thursday when their principal announced the news over the intercom.

"A lot of kids were crying, our whole school was down for the whole day," said 8th grader T'Angela Murray. "My best friend like just started crying because she knew her, and they would talk like friends."

Doctors report Officer Law suffered internal injuries including a torn liver during the crash. She remains in intensive care at Tampa General Hospital following emergency surgery Thursday.

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio and Police Chief Jane Castor were among those gathered at the hospital waiting for news of Officer Law's condition.   The officer has been with TPD for two years.   Before that she served as an officer with St. Petersburg Police.

Tampa Police report a state trooper from Pennsylvania and a paramedic from the Sarasota area were also injured in the crash.