North Carolina: Officer struck by vehicle, injured near uptown Charlotte
An officer was injured after being struck by a vehicle near uptown Charlotte Monday morning, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say. It happened around 7:44 a.m. on northbound Interstate 77 at John Belk Freeway, which is I-277.
The officer went to the hospital with minor injuries, CMPD said. The officer was reportedly working an accident at the time. After tragedy was avoided, CMPD and DOT officials are urging drivers to be extra careful when driving near the scene of an accident, with emergency workers on the side of the road. "You have someone very unprotected, standing on the roadway keeping everybody safe," said DOT's Steve Abbott.
No other officers were hurt. CMPD officials declined an interview, but told WBTV it wants to remind drivers about the "move-over" law. That law requires you to leave one lane between yourself and emergency vehicles stopped on the road. If you cannot safely move over a lane, or if there aren't enough lanes on the road to do this, you must slow down until you drive past the scene.
DOT officials also said the move-over law is something drivers need to know, especially on the busy highways where many accidents happen. In addition to moving over a lane and slowing down, they also said drivers need to be extra aware of their surroundings.
"Pay attention. Don't fiddle your radio, don't drink your coffee, just pay very close attention until you get through the accident scene, to be aware of all of your surroundings, because there are different things happening, and you don't want to be the second accident at that location," Abbott said.
Officials have not yet said if the driver who hit the officer has been charged with anything.
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