ILLINOIS ACCIDENT A REMINDER TO SLOW DOWN AND MOVE OVER
The violent collision New Year’s Eve destroyed Rock Island County Sheriff’s Deputy Pat Veronda’s squad car. When Veronda’s vehicle was struck on Interstate 80 by a passing semi truck during a New Year’s Eve snow storm, he was standing in the median about 10 feet away, getting ready to check on a vehicle that slid off the road.
“It was just like watching it on TV,” said the deputy, who has been with the department more than a year. “I got lucky. It could have been a lot worse.”
Veronda had seen similar incidents on shows featuring police elsewhere who had a passing vehicle collide with a car during a traffic stop. He’s never heard of a similar incident locally.
Veronda’s squad car was pushed several feet down the highway while the truck driver struggled to get control of his semi. The squad car, valued at $17,000, was totalled, Lt. William Kauzlarich, also of the sheriff’s department, said.
“If he had been up there by the car, there is no telling what could have happened,” Kauzlarich said. “Thank goodness he wasn’t there.”
No one was injured in the accident, which happened shortly after 6 p.m. in the interstate’s eastbound lane near mile marker 1 by the weigh station. Illinois State Police cited the truck driver, Carl Pullins from Texas, with driving too fast for conditions and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle.
The failure to yield violation falls under the Illinois Move-over Law and carries a fine of up to $10,000 and the possibility of a lengthy license suspension regardless of the driver’s home state, said Trooper Jason Wilson of Illinois State Police District 7 in East Moline.
Wilson said the law requires drivers to slow down or move over when they see an emergency vehicle with flashing lights. The law includes utility trucks and other vehicles with flashing lights, he said.
“When they see an emergency vehicle, they’re not going to know what the situation is ahead of them,” Wilson said of drivers. “Common courtesy, common sense, should tell them to slow down.” Wilson noted that every major entry point to the state has a sign warning drivers of the law. It’s likely the truck driver had just passed the sign or was close to it when the accident occurred.
Veronda said he saw the truck coming and witnessed its front left tire and fender strike the rear of his squad car. He was near the vehicle in the median, whose driver was still in the car.
“I try to keep an eye on things because you never know, especially on a bad day,” he said. “By the time (the truck driver) saw it, I think it was too late.” The semi truck suffered only a flat tire and bent rim, Veronda said. His squad car was virtually squashed with several windows blown out and major damage to the back of the vehicle.
“You could see into the trunk,” Veronda said. The squad car was parked on the side of the interstate with all of its emergency lights flashing when the accident happened. The packed snow and ice on the ground made it difficult to tell where the edge of the road started, but the accident cleared away some of the ice. Veronda could then see his vehicle was in the road by about a foot when the collision occurred.
“I was as far over as I could get,” the deputy said. “I couldn’t see the lines.” The Illinois State Police, Port Byron (Ill.) police and other sheriff’s deputies were soon on the scene. Someone else had to help the driver stuck in the median. Police hope the crash will remind drivers of the law.
“If you see a squad car, slow down and move over,” Veronda said.
Kauzlarich said truck drivers must be especially careful in bad weather, noting the weight they are hauling (the average truck can haul up to 80,000 pounds) can make the vehicle difficult to control and even more deadly upon collision.
“In conditions like that, you just need to slow down,” he said. Even when the weather is not bad, drivers need to be alert in the winter, the officers said. Wilson noted that condensation can leave hidden slick spots even when there is no precipitation, and Veronda, who responded to four accidents New Year’s Eve, said most drivers who slide off the road need better tires. “We’re still in the winter season, and New Year’s Day, that was a bad weather day,” Wilson said.
Related Links
Links provided with these articles were active and accurate as of the posting of the article to ResponderSafety.com. However, web sites change and the organization hosting the page at the link may have moved or removed it since this article was posted. Therefore, some links may no longer be active.