Warrenton police officer injured in I-70 roadside accident

Another person has suffered personal injuries while attending to issues on the shoulder of a Missouri road. This time, icy road conditions are being looked at as a contributing factor in an injury accident. A police officer responded to investigate a single-vehicle accident along eastbound Interstate 70 on Friday afternoon.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says that a Jeep Liberty slammed into a concrete road barrier. A 32-year-old man who serves as a Warrenton police officer responded to the accident scene.

While outside of his parked patrol car, authorities say that the officer was injured when a passing motorist lost control of his vehicle. A 19-year-old man from O’Fallon, Missouri, slid out of control and crashed into the damaged Jeep at the accident scene. The officer was standing behind the Jeep, which was plowed into the unprotected officer on the shoulder. The police officer was taken to a hospital in the St. Louis area for treatment of what authorities say are moderate injuries.

Injury accidents that occur in bad weather may have nuances that other accidents do not include. The same may be true when a younger driver is involved in a traffic accident. A 19-year-old is generally recognized as an adult, but when a teen is involved in a crash, the issues may be more complicated—maybe more so when younger teens are involved.

Drivers essentially have a duty to operate a vehicle with due care. That duty is not relieved only because weather conditions have made roads slippery. Reviewing the complete details surrounding a wreck is important in determining rights after an accident causes injury.

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Warrenton police officer hurt when hit while working a crash on icy I-70,” Mark Schlinkmann, Feb. 14, 2014