An Arizona state trooper vehicle parked on the shoulder of a highway was struck by a commercial car transport unit towed by a Ram truck in an incident that underscores the dangers faced by law enforcement officers any time they park emergency vehicles on high-speed roadways. The impact was captured on dashcam footage that shows the transport unit drifting into the trooper’s parked vehicle with what appears to be insufficient warning before contact. The trooper was conducting a roadside stop at the time and was not in the vehicle when it was struck, which is the primary reason the incident did not result in a fatality.
Commercial vehicle operators are required by law to move over and slow down when approaching any emergency vehicle stopped on the roadside, requirements that have been enacted in every US state following a series of fatal incidents involving law enforcement officers struck by passing traffic. The investigation into the Arizona incident will examine whether the truck driver was compliant with these requirements and whether mechanical factors contributed to the vehicle’s trajectory. The incident adds to a substantial body of evidence about the dangers that roadside stops present even when officers are parked safely behind their vehicles.
Comments are closed.