A Vermilion County Sheriff’s Deputy was seriously hurt early Sunday (January 26, 2020) when his squad car was struck by another vehicle along Interstate 74. Deputy Mike Vice had the emergency lights on his squad car operating while partially blocking a lane of traffic because of another crash, according to Chief Sheriff’s Investigator Michael Hartshorn.
Hartshorn says Vice had placed his squad car in the left, westbound lane of the interstate about a mile east of Bowman Avenue when it was struck in the rear. Illinois State Police say their preliminary investigation found that the squad car that was hit was stationary, partially on the left shoulder and left lane of traffic.
Hartshorn says three other marked squad cars were on the scene of the earlier crash at the time. Hartshorn noted it was shortly before dawn, but added it is a clear stretch of roadway. The crash occurred at 6:50 a.m.
The female who was driving the unit which hit Vice’s car is from Tennessee and refused medical treatment. Illinois State Police are investigating the crash in which Vice was hurt. Vice was transported to a Champaign-Urbana area hospital for treatment. His injuries were described as non life-threatening.
State Police cited the driver of the unit that hit the squad car. Seventy-year-old Violet James of Knoxville, Tennessee was charged with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and violating Scott’s Law – an Illinois law which requires vehicles to move over and carefully pass troopers and other vehicles which are sitting along highways.
