Driver Cited for Striking State Police Cruiser

NEWBURYPORT (CBS) – The driver of a pickup truck has been cited after police say he struck a State Police cruiser from behind on Interstate 95 early Friday morning.

A trooper, who was working a construction detail just south of Exit 57 on I-95 south in Newburyport, was treated and released from a local hospital after the incident, State Police said.

The unidentified trooper was in his cruiser just before 6:30 a.m. when it was struck from behind by a pickup truck driven by a 44-year-old man from Gorham, Maine, State Police said.

The marked cruiser, a Ford Interceptor, had its emergency blue lights activated, and was partially blocking the high-speed lane while a road crew was placing road signs in the median.

"The trooper observed the pickup in his rearview mirror as it approached from behind him and noticed that it was not moving out of the high speed lane," according to a State Police statement. "The trooper attempted to take evasive action by moving his cruiser to the left, into the median, but was still struck from behind… The force of the crash pushed the cruiser into the median and spun it around 180 degrees."

Both vehicles were heavily damaged.

State Police cited the unidentified driver, who was not injured, for failing to move over for an emergency vehicle.