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Parked trooper survives collision with semi truck driving on highway shoulder

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A police officer escaped with only minor injuries after a semi truck smashed into his stopped patrol vehicle in Illinois early on Sunday morning. 

The accident happened on September 26th at around 6 a.m. near St. Elmo, Illinois. 

According to Fox 2 Now, the trooper was parked on the right shoulder of eastbound Interstate 70 near milepost 76 with his lights on in order to assist a motorist when a semi truck traveling east veered off the roadway, onto the shoulder, and into the back end of the stopped patrol car with the trooper still inside. 

Miraculously, the trooper’s injuries were minor, and he was released from the hospital later that day. The 58-year-old trucker, Pedro Espinoza, and the motorist were also taken to a hospital for minor injuries. All are expected to make full recoveries. 

It is not clear why Espinoza was driving on the shoulder of the highway, but he has since been charged with violation of Scott’s Law, (the move-over law,) failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, and improper lane usage.

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