One officer remained hospitalized in critical condition yesterday, one was in stable condition and the four others were treated and released, said Officer Tanya Little, a police spokeswoman.

The latest crash occurred about 11:09 p.m., when Gilberto Rivera, 47, of Chester, lost control of a Lincoln Navigator along Erie Avenue near Whitaker, police said.

The Navigator hit a parked police cruiser with two officers inside. That cruiser, in turn, hit a cruiser parked behind it with an officer at the wheel, Little said.

The driver of the first patrol car suffered pain in his head, neck, back and legs; his passenger, a female officer, received numerous cuts to her forehead and scalp that required stitches, according to police.

The officer in the second patrol car suffered bruising, cuts and pain but still helped to arrest Rivera, who was uninjured and intoxicated, Little said.

Rivera was charged with DUI, resisting arrest, aggravated assault and related offenses, police said.

All three officers were taken to Temple University Hospital, where they were treated and released.

Officers Richard Hayes and George Higginson were not as lucky.

Hayes, 28, remained in critical condition at Aria Health's Frankford campus with severe head trauma, and Higginson was in stable condition last night at Hahnemann University Hospital, after they were hit by an alleged drunken driver while conducting a vehicle search on a separate DUI suspect they'd pulled over minutes before.

Higginson was expected to be released today.

The officers had placed Edwin Alizea, 30, of Oakmont Street near Leon, in handcuffs in the back of their cruiser and were searching his car on Aramingo Avenue near Church Street about 1:30 a.m. when a Honda Ridgeline driven by John Cusick, 20, of Bristol, sideswiped the cruiser and struck the car they were searching, police said.

After the crash, Alizea kicked out a window of the cruiser and ran from the scene, but was quickly apprehended by an off-duty officer, according to police.

Cusick stayed at the scene. Police said he had been speeding, but yesterday his attorney, William Ciancaglini, said Cusick was "absolutely not drag- racing."

Ciancaglini said Cusick is a professional truck driver and that his family feels bad for both officers.

"It's a tragedy all the way around," Ciancaglini said. "He called his grandma right after. He was very concerned and very scared for what he'd just done."

Police said that Cusick was charged with aggravated assault, DUI and related offenses, and that Alizea was charged with DUI, fleeing police and criminal mischief.

The five injured officers are from either the 24th or the 25th district, both headquartered at Whitaker Avenue and Luzerne Street in North Philadelphia.

The dangerous day for cops on Philly's roadways began about 1:22 a.m. - minutes before the wreck allegedly caused by Cusick - when Angela Forrest, 30, ran a red light at Lehigh Avenue near 29th Street, police said.

Her 1997 Ford Escort slammed into a patrol car traveling with its lights and sirens on, Little said.

The officer was taken to Temple hospital, where he was treated for neck, back and body pain and released.

Forrest, of North Taylor Street near West Somerset, was arrested and charged with DUI, simple assault and related charges, police said.