5 State Police Cruisers Struck By Drivers Around Illinois During Snowstorm Thursday, Including One In I-39 Pileup
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Five Illinois State Police cruisers were struck during the winter storm on Thursday – one of them in DuPage County and four downstate, including in a 100-car pileup east of Peoria and north of Bloomington-Normal.
State police said at 1:35 p.m. Thursday, an ISP District 9 trooper was conducting traffic control on Interstate 55 near Sherman in downstate Sangamon County. The trooper's fully-marked squad car was stationary with emergency lights on.
A gray Kenworth semi-trailer truck driven by Juan Carlos Sanchez Serna, 31, of Del Rio, Texas, sideswiped the ISP cruiser. Neither Sanchez Serna nor the trooper were injured, and Serna was cited for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle under Scott's Law, and driving too fast for conditions.
At 3:24 p.m. Thursday, a state trooper was in the left lane of southbound I-39 near El Paso, Illinois, trying to shut down lanes for a multi-vehicle crash. The trooper's squad car was stationary with lights on at the time.
Illinois State Police say more than 100 vehicles were involved in the pileup at that scene. A total of 19 commercial vehicles and nine other vehicles were damaged in the crash. Other cars involved slid off around the roadways, but were not damaged.
The pileup pushed a pickup truck into the state police squad car. There were no injuries reported.
At 4:27 p.m. Thursday, a state trooper was headed east on I-72 in Sangamon County, when a white 2002 Oldsmobile Alero driven by Cameron Withee, 22, of Jacksonville, Illinois, hit the squad car from the opposite direction. Neither Withee nor the trooper was injured. Withee was cited with driving with a canceled suspended, or revoked Illinois license, and driving too fast for conditions.
At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, a state police master sergeant was parked in the right lane of westbound I-74 near milepost 177 in Champaign County, conducting traffic control for a tow truck. The squad car was stationary with its lights on.
A white 2014 Freightliner semi-trailer truck driven by Kadar Saleiman, 35, of Houston, Texas, failed to yield to the squad car and slid on the roadway. The truck rear-ended the squad car.
Neither Saleiman nor thetrooper was injured. Saleiman got a ticket for failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash.
At 8:48 p.m., a state police sergeant was assisting a driver on I-290 westbound at Thorndale Avenue in west suburban Itasca. The sergeant's cruiser was stationary on the right shoulder with its lights on.
A blue 2015 Chevrolet sport-utility vehicle driven by Harold E. Murphy III, 59, of Lakemoor, slid on the roadway and rear-ended the cruiser. Both Murphy and the sergeant suffered minor injuries, and Murphy was cited for a Scott's Law violation.
"Inclement weather presents a greater risk to everyone, especially our Troopers working day and night to assist motorists on the road," ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly said in a news release. "We need you, the motoring public, to help them out by Slowing Down and Moving Over when approaching first responders on the roadway. We want everyone to make it home safely."
Scott's Law, also called the Move Over Law, mandates that when approaching police or other emergency vehicle stopped along the roadway, you must proceed with caution and change lanes when possible.
