Illinois State Police responded to two separate ‘move over’ or ‘Scott’s Law’ crashes in less than 12-hours on Wednesday and Thursday.
According to a press release from Illinois State Police, the first incident occurred on Wednesday, when an ISP trooper was blocking traffic for a commercial motor vehicle that had stalled in the left lane on NB I-55. A trooper was seated inside his vehicle when it was struck by a 2003 white Toyota pickup truck.
A third vehicle, a 2016 white Ford Econoline Van, traveling in the same direction and struck both the pickup truck and the trooper’s squad car
Police said the impact of the crash caused the trooper’s vehicle to be pushed into a concrete median and come to rest in the left lane. The Ford van came to rest in a ditch on the right side of the road, police said in a release.
The trooper’s squad car was then struck by a fourth vehicle, a 2011 Blue Subaru SUV as it attempted to avoid the crash.
The trooper sustained serious, but non-life-threatening injuries and was airlifted by helicopter to a local hospital.
The driver of the Toyota pickup truck sustained serious injuries and the driver of the Ford Van sustain non-life-threatening injuries. Both drivers were transported to a local hospital for treatment.
The driver of the Toyota pickup truck, Alexis Magallanes,19, of Berwyn, Illinois was cited for violating the ‘move over’ law, as well as failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident, police said in a release.
On Sept. 17, around 12:37 a.m., ISP troopers along with Illinois Department of Transportation vehicles were conducting traffic control for a crash that occurred on Interstate 290 EB at Austin Boulevard.
While investigating the crash, a 2009 maroon Acura drove through the scene, failing to yield to stationary emergency vehicle, police said.
The passenger side of the Acura struck the driver’s side of the ISP squad car and the IDOT truck.
The impact of the crash with the IDOT truck caused it to strike the IDOT operator who was standing on the road.
The driver of the Acura, Terrance K. Barber, 33, of Chicago, Illinois ran from the scene. But was captured by police shortly after.
The IDOT truck operator, a 46-year-old man, was transported to a local hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries, a release said. Barber was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries. He was later released.
Barber was charged with aggravated driving under the influence, leaving the scene of a personal injury crash, failure to give information/render aid, driving while license suspended, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, improper lane usage, improper passing of an emergency vehicle, improper passing of an emergency vehicle causing injury to another, and improper passing of an emergency vehicle causing property damage to another
“Our workers are first responders who put their lives on the line making our highways safer and keeping the public out of harm’s way. At the end of the day, they want to get home safely just like everybody else,” said Acting Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman.
