Mt. Juliet, Tenn. – A Mt. Juliet Police Community Service Officer response truck was hit while an officer was assisting a disabled motorist on Interstate 40. Today around 3:05 p.m., the officer was summoned to a disabled motorist after a wrecker operator contacted the department and requested traffic assistance to bring attention to the incident and warn other motorists to move over. Unfortunately, moments after the officer arrived on the scene, with emergency lights active and an enhanced warning message board active, the response truck was hit from behind.
The officer was inside at the moment of impact and was able to regain steering control of the truck after the impact sent it traveling towards other lanes of travel. The officer and the motorist of the other vehicle were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The officer has since been released from the hospital and is expected to recover fully.
“Our staff members selflessly place themselves in harms way daily to serve, protect, and assist our community members to ensure they are taken care of,” stated Chief James Hambrick. “I’m very grateful that no one was seriously injured during this incident.”
The Tennessee Highway Patrol responded to investigate the crash, which is department policy, anytime a Mt. Juliet police vehicle is involved in a collision.
Community Service Officers are trained civilian staff members who respond to incidents that do not require a police officer and assist police officers at incidents with traffic incident management. Their response trucks are equipped with high-visibility, reflective graphics, emergency warning lights, and enhanced, elevated warning message boards.
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