ST. CLAIR COUNTY, Ill. – In the span of just a few hours Saturday night, two police officers were struck while sitting inside their patrol cars in St. Clair County, IL.
The first happened around 7:30 in Freeburg, along Illinois State Route 13. Freeburg Police Officer Michael Flake was finishing up paperwork on a traffic stop when his patrol vehicle was sideswiped by an 83-year-old female driver.
“Heard a big boom, saw some stuff flying around,” Officer Flake says.
He’s thankful it was just minor damage to his car, instead of a major injury.
“When the car hit my mirror, this kind of flew up and hit my hood,” he says.
“That’s the phone call you don’t want to receive, that one of your officers was involved in an accident,” says Freeburg Chief Mike Schutzenhofer.
The second crash happened closer to midnight, about 10 miles south on Route 13, in New Athens.
The officer in that car had to be taken to the hospital, with non-life threatening injuries.
The driver that struck his patrol car was arrested and charged with a DUI. Her name has not been released.
Freeburg’s Police Chief says neither crash would have happened if drivers followed Illinois’ Scott’s Law. It’s named for Scott Gillen, a fireman who was struck and killed assisting with a crash in the Chicago area.
“It’s for the officer’s safety,” says Schutzenhofer.
Under the law, you’re supposed to slow down and change lanes if possible, when any first responder or tow truck has its emergency lights on, while on the side of the road.
“If you can’t move over into a lane, nothing says you can’t stop. Stop until it’s safe for you to pass by the emergency responders,” says the chief.
The law went into effect last year, but Flake says, it hasn’t exactly caught on.
“People don’t know, they don’t know the law exists,” says Flake.
Chief Schutzenhofer says it’s vital that more people pay attention, because next time, they might not be as lucky.
“The most important thing I stress for them is we want them to get there safely and go home safely,” says Schutzenhofer.
Both investigations are being handled by the Illinois State Patrol.
The New Athens driver is now facing DUI charges.
No word yet if the driver in Freeburg will face any consequences.
