PORTLAND, Maine — A Maine State Police cruiser was struck and a Jeep Cherokee was pinned against a concrete median in Kittery after a tractor-trailer drifted into the breakdown lane, then veered back into the left travel lane Wednesday morning.
The incident took place in the southbound lane of Interstate 95 in Kittery.
The cruiser, driven by Trooper Robert Flynn, was stopped in the breakdown lane with emergency lights activated when it was hit, according to a news release from the Maine State Police.
Flynn was parked behind a flatbed truck that was being towed for mechanical issues, and the driver of that tow truck was reportedly underneath the flatbed at the time of the incident, the release stated. The tow truck driver was struck by a piece of debris that came off the cruiser, but his injury was not considered life-threatening.
Johnny Rogers, 52, of Canastota, New York, was driving the tractor-trailer when he reportedly drifted into the breakdown lane, struck the cruiser, then pulled back onto the road. In doing so, the tractor-trailer struck the Jeep Cherokee, pinning it to the concrete barrier in the median, the release stated.
Two adults and two children were in the Jeep. All four occupants of the Jeep, Flynn, and the tow truck driver were brought to Portsmouth Regional Hospital with minor injuries, the news release stated.
Rogers has been charged with failure to move over for an emergency vehicle and distracted driving.