In Fairfax County, a Virginia state trooper’s patrol car was struck by a drunk driver after colliding with a tractor-trailer while conducting a DUI stop.
Law enforcement responded to a sedan that had come to a stop in the northbound lane of I-495 near Exit 52 in Fairfax County. The driver of the sedan remained inside the vehicle and was uncooperative, refusing to comply with the trooper’s instructions to exit the vehicle and relocate it to a safer spot on the shoulder of the road.
As the trooper was attempting to interact with the driver of the sedan, a Jeep Cherokee collided with a tractor-trailer that had stopped because of the lane closure caused by the sedan. The force of the collision caused the Jeep to spin and hit the trooper’s patrol car, which then collided with the sedan and subsequently struck the trooper, who was positioned next to the driver’s side of the sedan. Authorities reported that the trooper sustained minor injuries and was taken to Fairfax INOVA Hospital for assessment.
Following the incident, the trooper, who suffered minor injuries, was taken to Fairfax INOVA Hospital for evaluation. The driver of the sedan, identified as 43-year-old Erica D. Bernard from Albright, West Virginia, was also inside the vehicle when it was hit and received treatment for minor injuries. Bernard faces charges including driving under the influence of drugs, obstruction, possession of a schedule I or II substance, refusal of a blood/breath test, and improperly stopping a vehicle on a highway.
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The driver of the Jeep Cherokee has been identified as 35-year-old Joanna F. Hatch from Arlington, Virginia. Hatch was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. Both Bernard and Hatch were taken to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.