Sleeping Tractor-Trailer Driver Slams Into Cruiser On I-95 In Weston, Injuring Trooper, State Police Say

WESTON (CBS) – Massachusetts State Police say a tractor-trailer driver fell asleep at the wheel before he crashed into a trooper and left him seriously hurt on Route 95.

The trooper was in his parked, unmarked cruiser protecting a road construction crew trimming trees on 95 south in Weston around 11:45 p.m. Tuesday when the out-of-control truck approached the work zone. The cruiser's emergency lights were on and there was an illuminated arrow board behind it marking off the work zone.

State Police say the truck driver fell asleep while driving, woke up at the last second and tried to stop his truck, but it slammed into the setup barrels, cones, arrow board and then into the back of the cruiser.

"The Trooper heard and saw the tractor-trailer at the last second and braced for impact as his cruiser, an unmarked 2021 Ford Escape, was struck from behind," State Police spokesman Dave Procopio said in a statement.

"The force of the impact broke the steering wheel off, pushed the cruiser forward, and pinned the Trooper in the cruiser."

He was able to call for help on his radio and was eventually rushed to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. The 33-year-old trooper was released Wednesday morning and put on injured leave. His name has not been made public.

The tractor-trailer was jack-knifed across the highway after the collision. Route 95 south was completely shut down for more than an hour until the truck could be moved out.

The driver, a 27-year-old man from Montreal, faces charges in Waltham District Court of negligent operation, failure to move over, and marked lanes violation.