A suspected DUI driver is in the hospital with serious injuries after rear-ending a Washington State Patrol vehicle that was parked on the side of Interstate 5 northbound early Friday morning to block traffic for a separate semi truck crash, marking the second collision involving WSP vehicles in Southwest Washington within days.
No troopers were hurt in the collision. The incident started shortly before 3 a.m. when state troopers were called to handle a stalled semi truck and trailer that was blocking the two left lanes of I-5 northbound at exit 49, north of Castle Rock. Two troopers parked their WSP patrol vehicles with their lights activated in the left and center lanes, safely blocking off the stalled semi.
At 3:10 a.m., a driver rear-ended one of the troopers’ vehicles, causing it to hit a second patrol car. The first car was unoccupied, and the trooper in the second car had his seatbelt on. Neither trooper was injured, but WSP Public Information Officer Dakota Russell said the driver was arrested for DUI and airlifted to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center with serious injuries.
This is the second crash in Southwest Washington within a matter of days involving the Washington State Patrol. On Thursday, March 12, a trooper’s vehicle was hit while he was stopped on the side of I-205.
The back-to-back incidents highlight the dangers facing law enforcement officers who routinely park their vehicles with emergency lights activated to protect crash scenes and disabled vehicles. Despite visible warning lights and vehicles blocking lanes, impaired or distracted drivers continue to strike patrol cars at high speeds.
Washington’s “Move Over” law requires drivers to move over a lane or slow down when approaching emergency vehicles with flashing lights on the roadside. Violations can result in fines, though the law has done little to prevent serious collisions when drivers fail to notice or react to emergency vehicles ahead.
