CHICAGO WTVO — An Illinois State Police officer was injured when a car crashed into their vehicle on Interstate 94 early on August 31.
The incident occurred around 2:20 a.m. The trooper’s squad car was parked in the first lane near 111th Street with emergency lights on, as they were responding to a previous crash. While the trooper was still inside the vehicle, an Audi collided with the rear of the squad car.
The trooper was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The Audi’s driver, 47-year-old Samuel Oatis III, and a passenger also sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Oatis was cited for violating the move-over law, following too closely, and failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
So far in 2024, the Illinois State Police have reported 17 move-over law crashes, resulting in injuries to eight troopers. In 2023, there were 21 such crashes with seven troopers injured, and in 2022, 25 crashes resulted in 13 injuries.