An East Peoria police officer was injured Wednesday night after being struck by a vehicle while on the scene of a previous crash on Interstate 74.
The incident happened around 9:45 p.m. on eastbound I-74 in East Peoria. The East Peoria officer was in his squad car with his lights activated, assisting with traffic control on a previous crash.
That's when another vehicle struck his squad car. The officer was transported to a local area hospital with serious but non-life-threatening-injuries, State Police said.
A 29-year-old Peoria woman who was driving the van that rear-ended the squad car was charged with aggravated DUI, unlawful possession of cannabis by a driver, and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, according to State Police. She suffered minor injuries in the crash.
The 29-year-old driver was also charged with a violation of Scott’s Law. That's the state law (enacted in 2002) requiring drivers to slow down and move over when approaching an emergency vehicle, or any vehicle with their emergency or hazard lights activated. State Police say they've seen an increased number of crashes involving Scott's Law in the past five years.
Wednesday's crash comes just one week after the designated Scott's Law Day (Dec. 23).
