Trooper hit by suspected drunk driver
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - A State Patrol trooper was hospitalized Saturday after a suspected drunk driver in a pickup truck slammed into her patrol car at a busy intersection.
Medics and other state troopers responded to the scene, at the intersection of South 348th Street and 16th Avenue South, at about 4:30 p.m.
Investigators determined that the crash happened when the pickup driver was trying to turn north on 16th Avenue from westbound 348th Street "at a speed way too fast for conditions," said Trooper Clifford Pratt.
Pratt said the 46-year-old driver lost control of his pickup truck, slid across the two northbound lanes of 16th Avenue and slammed into the patrol car as it was starting a left turn from the opposite direction.
"The patrol car was not engaged in stopping anybody - it was just like an everyday driver trying to make a left turn," Pratt said. "From out of nowhere this large pickup truck ... jumped the curb and struck her just at the driver's door."
The trooper was rushed to the hospital. She was alert and conscious, but her condition was not immediately released.
The pickup driver was not hurt. He was handcuffed and taken into custody on suspicion of DUI. Some drug paraphernalia also was found in his pickup, troopers said.
Pratt said many lanes around the busy intersection would remain closed for some time during an investigation of the crash scene.
Medics and other state troopers responded to the scene, at the intersection of South 348th Street and 16th Avenue South, at about 4:30 p.m.
Investigators determined that the crash happened when the pickup driver was trying to turn north on 16th Avenue from westbound 348th Street "at a speed way too fast for conditions," said Trooper Clifford Pratt.
Pratt said the 46-year-old driver lost control of his pickup truck, slid across the two northbound lanes of 16th Avenue and slammed into the patrol car as it was starting a left turn from the opposite direction.
"The patrol car was not engaged in stopping anybody - it was just like an everyday driver trying to make a left turn," Pratt said. "From out of nowhere this large pickup truck ... jumped the curb and struck her just at the driver's door."
The trooper was rushed to the hospital. She was alert and conscious, but her condition was not immediately released.
The pickup driver was not hurt. He was handcuffed and taken into custody on suspicion of DUI. Some drug paraphernalia also was found in his pickup, troopers said.
Pratt said many lanes around the busy intersection would remain closed for some time during an investigation of the crash scene.