An Illinois State Trooper was struck by a passing semi-truck in Effingham Tuesday when talking to a truck driver involved in an earlier semi vs. pedestrian crash. The trooper was taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and has since been treated and released.
State Police say the incident occurred at 7:25 Tuesday morning when the trooper was on the right shoulder of the ramp from US 45 to I-57 southbound with emergency lights activated. While the trooper was on the driver’s side external floorboard of the truck cab, a passing semi struck the Trooper and the cab. The uninjured driver of the passing truck, 42-year-old Eric Trevino of Temple Bell, Texas, was ticketed for a violation of Scott’s Law for improper passing of a stationary emergency vehicle.
Meanwhile, two construction workers were killed Tuesday morning when they were struck and killed after being hit by a passenger car while setting up construction barrels for a work zone on the Great River Bridge on US 34 over the Mississippi River. They were walking behind their stationary pickup truck and trailer which had its yellow construction lights activated when they were hit. The two are identified as 20-year-old Pearson Franklin of New London, Iowa and 35-year-old Andrew Whitcomb of Burnside, Illinois.
The driver of the car, 21-year-old Emily Johnson of Gladstone, was given citations for Scott’s Law for improper passing of a stationary emergency vehicle, improper use of an electronic communication device, and failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash. She received minor injuries in the crash.
There have now been 19 Illinois State Police squad cars struck in relation to the Move Over Law, with eight troopers sustaining injuries. A Scott’s Law violation that results in injury can result in the loss of your driver’s license for between six months and two years.
