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Trooper, two others injured in I-70 crash

An Ohio State Highway Patrolman and two others were injured Monday afternoon, Sept. 7, 2009, when a car struck a patrol car on westbound Interstate 70 east of Interstate 675.

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By Staff Reports Updated 8:10 AM Tuesday, September 8, 2009

An Ohio State Highway Patrolman received neck and back injuries and two other people were injured Monday, Sept. 7, when a car struck a highway patrol vehicle on westbound Interstate 70.

The patrol car was stopped on the left-side berm between the left lane and a concrete wall separating east and westbound I-70 when it was struck at about 4:40 p.m.

The officer, who has not been identified, had made a traffic stop for speeding and was completing paperwork after the stop when his vehicle was struck from behind by a westbound Mercedes, according to Sgt. Vee Witcher of the Springfield Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

A female passenger in the Mercedes was flown from the scene to an area hospital. The driver of the car, a male, was taken to the hospital by ambulance. Both were treated for nonthreatening life injuries, according to the highway patrol.

The patrolman was alert and talking when he was put into an ambulance. He was taken to the hospital and treated for nonthreatening life injuries, Witcher said.

Two dogs that were also passengers in the Mercedes appeared unharmed by the crash.

Witcher said accidents like this could be avoided if people “slow down, take notice and move over into the far lane” when the see patrol vehicles puled over on the side of the road.

Two lanes of westbound I-70 about a half mile east of the I-675 Interchange were closed and traffic was backed up on I-70 in both directions at the time of the accident. Numerous cars on I-70 westbound made u-turns into oncoming traffic on the Route 4 onramp to avoid the traffic jam.

Staff members Marshall Gorby and  Apryl Pilolli contributed to this report.

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