Drivers Lose Control In Snowstorm, Hit Illinois State Police Cruisers 3 Different Times Wednesday In Downstate Illinois
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Illinois State Police squad cars were struck three different times in downstate Illinois amid the snowstorm Wednesday.
In two of the incidents, the drivers who hit the squad cars failed to move over for emergency vehicles as required by law.
At 7:40 a.m., an ISP District 9 trooper was on the left shoulder of Interstate 72 near Illiopolis – a small town about halfway between Springfield and Decatur. The trooper was helping a stranded motorists who had slid off the roadway in the winter storm.
The squad car was parked with its lights on, state police said. A gray Chevrolet Impala headed west failed to yield to the state police cruiser, and ended up sliding off the roadway and rear-ending it, state police said.
The trooper was treated and released from an area hospital. The driver of the Chevrolet – Anthony L. Newman, 29, of Springfield – was not injured. A violation of the Move Over Law was a contributing factor in the crash, state police said.
At 12:36 p.m., a trooper was headed south on Interstate 57 south of Mattoon in the right lane without emergency lights activated. Mattoon is about 185 miles south of Chicago.
A black Chevrolet Trax driven by Dalton M. McCarthy, 20, of downstate Maryland Heights, was traveling in the left lane. He passed the trooper's cruiser and rear-ended it.
No one was injured in the crash. McCarthy was ticketed for following too closely.
At 3:22 p.m., a trooper working in ISP District 9 was on the right shoulder of the ramp from southbound Veterans Parkway to eastbound I-72 in Springfield, dealing with a crash.
The cruiser in this case was fully marked and had its emergency lights on, state police said.
A vehicle traveling on the ramp skidded on the ice, lost control, rear-ended the cruiser, and pushed the cruiser into the initial wrecked vehicle.
The driver of the offending vehicle was uninjured, but the trooper was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. State police said the driver in this case also violated the Move Over Law.
The Move Over Law, also called Scott's Law, mandates that when approaching police or other emergency vehicle stopped along the roadway, you must proceed with caution and change lanes when possible.