Washington: Bellingham officer hit by car

Veteran Patrolwoman Stephanie Lemon’s colleagues are calling her lucky after she was struck by a motor vehicle while directing traffic on Pulaski Boulevard Monday morning. “She went up and over the hood,” said Lt. Kevin Ranieri. “She was knocked off her feet and landed on the ground on her right side.” Lemon was transported to Milford Regional Medical Center, where doctors determined she had suffered nothing worse than some serious bruising. Initially some paramedics thought she might have broken an arm. “She’s lucky,” said Ranieri.

Jacqueline Tetreault, 61, of Blackstone – the motorist who struck Lemon – was cited for negligent operation of a motor vehicle, Ranieri said. Tetreault told officers she didn’t see Lemon directing traffic out of Harpin Street when she took a left-hand turn onto Pulaski Boulevard about 7:20 a.m. She told police she was looking to the right to make sure traffic had stopped from that direction at the same time she turned left, failing to notice the policewoman in the path of her car.

Lemon and other emergency responders had converged on Harpin Street after an earlier two-car accident, according to Ranieri. Three people were taken to Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket after the first crash, all with minor injuries, the lieutenant said. Lemon has been a member of the Bellingham Police Department since 1999. Ranieri said the department expects her to be out of work for at least a few days while she recovers from her injuries.