California: CHP officer hit by FedEx truck on Highway 50 overnight
A California Highway Patrol officer was hit by a big rig truck overnight while investigating a two-car crash in the eastbound lanes of Highway 50 near 16th Street.
The officer was outside his patrol vehicle when the FedEx truck hit him around 3 a.m. He and another officer were trying to move two crashed cars to the highway shoulder when he was hit.
"First and foremost our thoughts are with the officer and others involved in this accident, and we are cooperating fully with the authorities as they conduct their investigation," FedEx spokesperson David Westrick said in a statement.
Few details have been released about his condition, but the CHP said he has major injuries and was taken to a local hospital. He was conscious and talking while being taken to the hospital.
CHP has not identified the officer but said he is a veteran officer assigned to the South Sacramento CHP office.
The driver of the big rig stopped after the crash. Investigators don’t know if drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash.
“These crashes are so preventable. I mean the patrol vehicle had his lights on. And what we want to see, which is the law, is that when you see a patrol with its lights on, you move over a lane,” CHP Officer Michael Bradley said. “It appears the officer did everything right. We’re early on into this investigation.”
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