Thirteen Washington State Patrol vehicles have been struck in King County since the end of December, the most recent of which was Wednesday morning, according to state patrol.
“Troopers and other first responders are working inches from traffic driving by often at freeway speeds, and the resulting crashes can be catastrophic to them,” Captain Ron Mead, who commands WSP field operations in King County, said in a statement. “They, like every motorist, deserve an opportunity to make it home at the end of their shifts.”
Half of the collisions were caused by impaired drivers and the other half were caused by distracted drivers or drivers not following the “Move Over” law, which requires drivers slow down or move over for stopped emergency or assistance vehicles.
Some of the troopers were injured in the crashes, but Mead said he was “grateful” none resulted in serious trooper injuries.
Mead urged drivers to focus on driving while in the car and not drive impaired.
Here are several of the recent crashes involving troopers:
December 26, 2017: A trooper’s patrol car was struck in the Eastgate area of Interstate 90 while the patrol car blocked a disabled vehicle. The patrol vehicle was pushed into the disabled car, which then hit the trooper, who is still recovering from his injuries. The driver of the suspect vehicle may have been distracted, according to state patrol.
January 9, 2018: A distracted driver hit a patrol car on the left shoulder of Interstate 5 in downtown Seattle while the trooper investigated an earlier crash. The distracted driver also hit the trooper and the car involved in the previous collision.
February 14, 2018: A semi-truck sideswiped a patrol car that was on the shoulder of Eastbound I-90 and kept driving. The trooper was not in the car and was uninjured.
March 1, 2018: An impaired driver hit a patrol car on the left shoulder of I-5 and fled the scene. The driver was arrested for Driving Under the Influence.
March 10, 2018: A trooper’s vehicle was hit by an impaired driver on the shoulder of Southbound I-5 near Boeing Access Road during an unrelated traffic stop. The trooper is still recovering from injuries.
April 1, 2018: An impaired driver struck a trooper’s vehicle while the trooper blocked one lane of I-5 near Southcenter due to a car that had previously crashed into a pedestrian.
April 11, 2018: A 34-year-old woman was arrested for investigation of Driving Under the Influence after her car slammed into two state patrol cars on a traffic stop on I-5 in South Seattle.
