Tower & Trooper Struck - 02.29.20 (VA)

[TowNews]

Trooper, tow driver injured after oncoming car hits State Police vehicle working previous accident in Christiansburg

 

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (WDBJ7)-- A Virginia State trooper and tow truck driver were both taken to the hospital Saturday after an SUV hit a State Police car that was stopped at the scene of an earlier accident.

 

According to Virginia State Police, one of their troopers responded to a two-vehicle accident along I-81S in Christiansburg at around 7:30 Saturday morning near mile marker 118.3. A driver from S & A Towing in Christiansburg was sent to the scene, and at one point, began talking to the trooper near his car on the side of I-81.

 

A gold SUV in oncoming traffic lost control due to what State Police believes was speed and slick roadway conditions, and hit the trooper's car. The impact of the crash injured both the trooper and tow driver. The trooper has since been released, while the S & A employee was still being treated for injuries that are non-life threatening at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

 

One adult and three minors were in the SUV at the time. The woman driving the vehicle and all passengers were also taken to the hospital to get treatment for injuries, according to VSP.

 

The case remains open. No arrests have been filed.

 

State Police asks all drivers to use caution and obey the "Move Over Law." A goal of the law is for "drivers to yield right-of-way or reduce speed when approaching stationary vehicles displaying certain warning lights on highways."

 

More information about the "Move Over Law" can be found by clicking here.

 

RESOURCE LINK

[TowNews]

Tow truck driver hit on I-81 breaks neck, has ‘really long road to recovery ahead of him’

26-year-old Tennessee man charged with reckless driving

 

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – Virginia State Police Senior Trooper Roger Alley

is back at work after being involved in a scary incident this weekend.

Alley and tow truck driver Eugene Alls, 31, were working an accident on Interstate 81 in Christiansburg on Saturday morning when a driver who was going too fast for the snowy roads failed to move over and hit them both.

Police charged that driver, Jean Luc Fortner, 26, of Lebanon, Tennessee, with reckless driving.

"What I remember most was the rear window shattering and the front side and back side window shattering as well," Alley said.

Alley is okay, but Alls, who was standing beside the trooper’s car,

was pinned between the car and the wall.

 

"I heard Eugene say, ‘Trooper, I’m hurt,’” recalled Alley.

"I don't think it's really set in how close he came to losing his life,"

said Eugene’s boss Shawn Lowry, who owns S&A Towing.

 

Lowry said Eugene is still in the hospital recovering from surgery for

a broken neck, among other injuries.

 

"He's going to have a really long road to recovery ahead of him," Lowry said.

He will be out of work for at least a few months, but he’s lucky to be alive.

 

"Any time you're working on the interstate, you're risking your life," Lowry said.

 

"It's part of the job. I know that's a coined phrase but it's, that's what we are

paid to unfortunately endure at times," Alley said.

 

This accident is just another example of the life-threatening

consequences of not moving over. "Anything with flashing lights on it,

it's the law, move over and give us room to work," Lowry said.

 

"It's a simple message," Alley said. The driver and three passengers

in the car that caused the accident were also taken to the hospital.

 

RESOURCE LINK

[mooresbp]

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