WESTON, MASS. (WHDH) - Investigators say the driver of a tractor-trailer that crashed into a cruiser on Interstate 95 in Weston, seriously injuring a trooper late Tuesday night was asleep at the wheel.
A 33-year-old trooper assigned to the department’s Division of Administrative Services was in his cruiser in the breakdown lane with his emergency lights activated while working a detail protecting a crew that had been cutting trees by the southbound side of the highway, according to state police.
A 2020 Freightliner Cascada, owned by Ship Optimus Inc., of Quebec City in Canada, entered the detail setup around 11:45 p.m. and struck the setup barrels, cones, and arrow board, state police said.
The trooper heard the crash and braced for impact as his cruiser was struck from behind, state police added.
The force of the impact reportedly broke the steering wheel off, pushed the cruiser forward, and pinned the trooper.
It then caused the tractor-trailer to swerve across the on-ramp, strike the guardrail on the right, then swerve back to the left, hitting the median barrier before coming to rest jackknifed across all southbound lanes, according to state police.
The operator of the tractor-trailer, identified by state police as a 27-year-old Montreal man, allegedly woke up at the last second and tried to apply his brakes, but did so too late to avoid hitting the cruiser.
The officer was rushed to the hospital and released on Thursday. The extent of their injuries was not released.
State police say they will summons the driver to face charges of negligent operation, failure to move over, and marked lanes violation.
An investigation remains ongoing.
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