3 Ill. Troopers Struck on Icy Roadways During Storm

Three Illinois State Police troopers were struck while working on icy highways during a winter storm on Wednesday, the agency said.

One trooper who had non-life-threatening injuries was being treated in a hospital, one was treated and then released from a hospital and the third did not need treatment, according to a news release.

The names of the troopers were not released.

A citation has been filed against a driver in one of the cases and an investigation is underway in the other two cases for possible violations of the state's "move over" for first-responders law.

The winter storm began early Wednesday and the forecast calls for it to continue until Thursday afternoon.

The first incident occurred at 7:40 a.m. on Interstate 72 near Illiopolis when a trooper was assisting a stranded motorist whose vehicle had slid off the road due to weather conditions, police said.

"The squad car was stationary with all of its emergency lights activated," the news release stated. "A gray Chevrolet Impala traveling westbound failed to yield to the stationary emergency vehicle, slid on the roadway and struck the rear end of the ISP squad car."

The Impala driver, 29-year-old Anthony L. Newman of Springfield, was not injured and the case remains under investigation, police said.

The second incident occurred at about 12:36 p.m. when a trooper traveling south on Interstate 57 near Mattoon was struck by a motorist who lost control of his 2016 Chevrolet Trax on slick pavement while passing the trooper's squad car.

Dalton M. McCarthy, 20, of Maryland Heights, Missouri, was cited for following too closely, the news release said.

No injuries were reported in this collision.

In the third case, a trooper was struck at about 3:22 p.m. while investigating a crash on the right shoulder of the ramp from southbound Veterans Parkway to Interstate 72 eastbound in Springfield. "A vehicle traveling on the ramp lost control on the ice, struck the rear bumper of the squad car, and pushed the squad into the initial wrecked vehicle," the news release stated.

The driver, whose name was not released, was not injured but the trooper was taken to a hospital for treatment and is expected to make a full recovery.

"Please, everyone, stay at home," Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said in a statement. "If you absolutely have to get out, move over and slow down upon approach of first responders. Give them the room they need to assist other motorists and get home safely to their families."

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