3 Lawrence police officers escape injury when Jeep slams into cruiser on I-70
Three Lawrence police officers had a scary night on Interstate 70 late Thursday as they worked the scene of a crash near the college town.
They narrowly escaped injury when a Jeep Wrangler crashed into a patrol car being used to block traffic, the Lawrence Kansas Police Department said in a press release Friday.
The driver, 20, sustained serious but non life-threatening injuries, police said. He was able to talk to the officers on the scene right after the crash.
Here’s what happened.
Officers were called to direct traffic off of I-70 at mile marker 202 — the West Lawrence exchange that leads to the University of Kansas campus — after a semi-truck crashed and blocked traffic up the road near mile marker 198, police said.
The officers, wearing reflective vests, were outside their patrol cars, which were set in place with flashing lights to detour motorists, police said. They were also using flashlights and hand signals to direct traffic, according to police.
Just after 11:30 p.m., one of the officers was gathering supplies from the trunk of her car, with her back turned to oncoming traffic, and did not see the Jeep heading towards her.
A second officer yelled at her to get out of the way as he ran towards her, jumping over a concrete median barrier.
The Jeep crashed into the patrol car, which spun around and stopped right before hitting the third officer, police said. The Jeep hit the concrete barrier and came to rest about 10 feet from the initial impact, said police.
The driver was transported to an area trauma center, police said.
Both the jeep and the patrol car sustained significant damage and were towed from the scene.
The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating. Police did not know whether the driver was impaired.
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