Move Over Law reinforced after PA officer's car was struck while he attended to disabled vehicle
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Morrisville Borough police officer was sitting inside this SUV when another vehicle hit him from behind.
The officer has been identified as Corporal Bill Smith, who's been with the department for 20 years.
"He was helping a disabled motorist when Juan Martinez, driving a Honda, came over Route 1 traveling at an excessive speed and did not move over for the police officer who was blocking traffic," Chief George McClay said.
Chopper 3 shows first responders at the scene of the crash on the southbound lanes of U.S. Route 1 near Pennsylvania Avenue last night.
McClay believes the driver who hit the officer was distracted.
"It's just ironic and how horrible that these people don't pay attention to the red and blue lights and slow down," McClay said. "And just the respect that these officers don't have because these people just won't slow down and move over."
The crash hits close to home for Brittany Sisca.
She's the widow of trooper Branden Sisca, one of two Pennsylvania State Police troopers killed by a suspected drunk driver in a crash last year.
"It's scary because everyone needs to come home. And you know, unfortunately, like, we have lived that," Sisca said.
She and her friend, Trooper Ross Greenwood, are on a mission to raise awareness about the Move Over Law through their nonprofit, The Trooper Branden Sisca Foundation.
READ MORE: How fallen Trooper Branden Sisca's widow turned heartbreak to hope for others
"We get a lot of first responders getting hit by vehicles seriously injured or killed. Two of my troopers two weeks ago got hit by a vehicle that didn't move over while they're on a traffic stop," Greenwood said.
The chief said if Corporal Smith had been outside his SUV when he was hit, he would have likely been killed. He is also urging drivers to pay attention to the road and move over so officers can get home to their families safely.