A Lakewood police motorcycle officer was injured this morning in a collision on Steilacoom Boulevard.

The officer was taken to a local hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries, Lakewood police Lt. Heidi Hoffman said.

Preliminary reports indicate the officer was driving in the 8600 block of Steilacoom Boulevard when a car pulled out in front of him, Hoffman said. An investigation is under way.

The condition of the other driver was not immediately available.

UPDATE: Here's a few more details about what happened and the officer.

The officer was headed westbound on Steilacoom Boulevard, approaching 87th Avenue Southwest.

A witness told police that a red compact car was pulling out of a parking lot to take a left turn in front of the officer. The 42-year-old motorcycle officer didn't have time to stop and T-boned the car.

"He couldn't stop," Hoffman said.

The car's driver, a woman in her early 80s, suffered minor cuts but was not taken to a local hospital, Hoffman said. The traffic officer was seriously injured and talking to others at the scene.

At the time of the crash shortly before 11 a.m., the motorcycle officer was following his partner. His partner was pulling over a violator and had pulled ahead of him, Hoffman said.

The injured officer has been in law enforcement for 13 years and with the Lakewood Police Department since its inception in 2004, Hoffman said. He's been assigned to the traffic unit since he was hired.

The Lakewood Police Department is not releasing the hospital where the officer is being treated, more information about the officer's injuries or his name at this time, Hoffman said.

Puyallup police officers responded to the crash scene and were doing the scene reconstruction.

The other driver was interviewed by officers.

The investigation was continuing.

(Photo courtesy of reader Verita Whitman)