Mt. Juliet, Tenn. – A motorist struck two Patrol SUVs on Interstate 40 while three officers assisted a motorist in a disabled vehicle. Around 7:05 p.m. this evening, officers arrived to help the motorist, whose car was partially in a travel lane near the inside Interstate wall. While waiting for a tow truck around 7:50 p.m., a motorist traveling east on I-40 failed to move over and struck one of the patrol SUVs, which launched forward into the second patrol SUV.
All three officers were out of their vehicles during the impact while they worked to help the stranded motorist and tow truck operator. After impact, they began to render aid to the motorist that struck the police vehicles, and thankfully, there were no serious injuries to anyone involved in the incident.
“Motorists must always pay attention while driving. Eyes must be focused on the road ahead for hazards,” stated Chief James Hambrick. “Our prayers will be with the injured motorist, and we hope he recovers quickly. I am so very grateful that our police officers were not injured. They will get to go home to their families tonight.”
Per department protocol, a third-party law enforcement agency is always called to investigate any crash involving a department police vehicle. The Tennessee Highway Patrol responded to the scene, and troopers handled the crash investigation.
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