An Illinois State Police officer was hit by his own squad car when it was struck during a traffic stop on the shoulder of Interstate 55.
Two state police patrol cars were on the shoulder, with emergency lights activated, during a traffic
stop along the northbound lanes of I-55 near Bolingbrook at about 12:45 a.m. Friday, May 20, 2016, according to a statement from Illinois State Police.
As an officer began to walk to the second squad car, a 2004 Mercedes-Benz driven by 24-year-old Daniel Gaeta of Joliet, struck the back of his squad car. The impact pushed the squad car forward; it struck the officer and then the back of the first squad car, police said.
The person being arrested during the traffic stop was already in the front seat of the first squad car. That person, and the officer from the first patrol car, were taken to a hospital where they were evaluated and released.
The officer who was hit by the patrol car suffered multiple fractures, police said, and he was admitted to a hospital.
Gaeta was also evaluated at a local hospital before he was taken to the Will County Jail, where he was held for felony DUI, police said. Jail records showed Gaeta was still in jail as of about 3:30 p.m. Friday.