A Baltimore police officer was hurt on the job when she was struck by a car as she was attending to the cleanup of a motor vehicle accident on Interstate 83 northbound near Cold Spring Lane. The accident caused the officer to fall 30 feet off the side of the highway onto a parking lot.
Reports say the female officer was standing near her police cruiser while a tow truck was preparing to transport a disabled vehicle on the Jones Falls Expressway when the mid-morning accident occurred. Investigators say a Saab lost control and struck the officer’s police car, pushing the woman off the elevated roadway and onto a concrete parking lot below.
Emergency responders say the officer was immediately taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center. She suffered multiple injuries in the crash, including leg fractures. Doctors who performed surgery on the 27-year-old officer say she remains in critical condition.
Three others were also hurt in the crash including the tow truck driver, the owner of the disabled car and the Saab’s driver. The extent of their injuries has not been reported.
The northbound lanes of Interstate 83 were closed for four hours. No charges have yet been filed and the investigation into the accident continues.
In response to such car accidents that pose a serious threat to field officers, state police say drivers have been required by law since October to slow down and get out of the way when driving by scenes like auto accidents. The so-called “move over” law makes it compulsory for drivers to shift over one lane to make a scene safer and easier to access for emergency responders.
Source: The Baltimore Sun