INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – An ambulance, a state trooper, and sheriff’s deputy were struck in three separate crashes while helping drivers stranded in Saturday’s snowfall.
St. Joseph County Police Department officials say Corporal Ray Warren was working several slide-offs along U.S. 31 when a driver crashed into his patrol vehicle. Warren was in the driver’s seat and not seriously hurt, and he has been released from the hospital.
It was a similar situation for an Indiana State Police (ISP) trooper on I-465.
ISP tells News 8 the trooper was parked at a two-vehicle wreck around Exit 13 in Indianapolis when a driver crashed into his patrol car. He was taken to the hospital, but ISP didn’t believe his injuries were serious.
Earlier in the day, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said an SUV driving too fast for the icy road conditions couldn’t stop in time to avoid rear ending an ambulance responding to a semi rollover. The impact of the crash pushed the ambulance off the road, into a ditch, according to the department. No one was hurt.
“Thankfully, there were no patients in the back of the ambulance and no emergency workers were struck,” the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post. “However, it could have easily ended in tragedy.”
The close calls follow a semi-truck killing Delaware County Corporal Blake Reynolds on Nov. 12 while the 31-year-old was trying to help a stranded motorist on I-69. St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman directly referenced Reynolds while asking people to consider the risks to first responders out on the roads.
“Any incident involving one of our officers hits close to home, but the events of the past two weeks make this even more personal,” Redman said in a statement.
During an event marking this year’s Winter Weather Preparedness Week, ISP Capt. Ron Galaviz emphasized that weather-related crashes can be prevented by people driving with caution. “And yes, they are crashes, not accidents,” Galaviz said, to highlight how they are avoidable. “The responsibility falls squarely on each individual driver.”
About The Author
You may also like
-
Fuel costs put Indiana’s family farms at risk
-
Motorcyclist dies in collision with school bus in rural Lafayette
-
Carmel woman warns others about scam calls claiming to help with pain
-
Statewide Silver Alert issued for missing 9-year-old boy in Lafayette
-
Charges filed against man accused of shooting IMPD officer in Broad Ripple