An Eldridge man, two Johnson County deputies and an Iowa State Police trooper are probably lucky to be alive after a truck careened out of control on Interstate 80.
Trooper Jesse Hernandez was in an unmarked patrol car as he spoke with two Johnson County Sheriff's Department deputies near a crash on westbound I-80 near mile marker 232 Friday morning, March 14, 2014.
A report filed by state police said a semi driver, distracted by the flashing lights and activity at the crash scene, drove his rig into the back of a pickup truck driven by Dana Miller of Eldridge, Iowa.
The impact sent the pickup across the westbound lanes and onto the shoulder, where it clipped the unmarked patrol car. The pickup hit the ditch and a mile-marker sign post before it stopped.
Miller was wearing a seat belt and he was not hurt according to a report from Iowa State Police.
Trooper Hernandez was taken by another state police vehicle to an area hospital where he was treated and released. Neither of the deputies were hurt.
Police said the semi driver, 49-year-old Michael Smith of Arlington, Iowa, was also not hurt. Smith was cited for failure to maintain control of his vehicle.
(Editor's note: We mistakenly reported that Dana Miller was female. We apologize for the error.)