ISP trooper injured after truck strikes parked squad car on westbound I-74
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, Ill. (CBS) – An Illinois State Police trooper is recovering after his squad vehicle was hit by a truck on I-74 Wednesday morning.
The crash happened at exit 197 in Champaign County around 1:59 a.m.
ISP officials say the trooper was inside the car that was stationary in the construction zone with emergency lights on and parked behind several construction barricades.
All traffic at the time was being diverted off I-74 westbound onto exit 197 for construction in the area.
A brown 2023 Mack truck tractor hauling three truck tractor units was traveling westbound when it failed to follow the designated traffic diversion, drove through the barricades, struck the exit 197 sign, then the rear and driver side of the squad car, ISP said.
The trooper was taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the Mack truck, a 46-year-old man from Urbana, Illinois was issued citations for violating Scott's Law – failure to yield to a stationary emergency vehicle and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
So far this year, ISP had eight Move Over Law-related crashes. In 2022, ISP had 23 Move Over Law-related crashes where eight troopers suffered injuries.