08:59 PM PDT on Thursday, April 13, 2006

By PAUL AKER / KING 5 News

PUYALLUP, Wash. - A Washington State Patrol motorcyle trooper was injured Thursday morning when he was hit by a truck on Highway 512 between Canyon and 94th in Pierce County.

Trooper Dan Hefton, 41, was off of his motorcycle, writing the driver of a Kia Sedona a ticket, when a moving van driven by a 25-year-old man from Mineral, Wash., swerved off of the road and hit him and the Sedona.

"Witnesses said it threw him significantly and he landed on his head,” said Trooper JJ Gundermann.

Hefton, a veteran of nearly 13 years, was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. He was taken to a nearby hospital and was to be released later in the day.

KING

A Washington State Patrol trooper's motorcycle lies on its side after being struck by a vehicle on Highway 512 in Pierce Co., April 13, 2006.

The woman and a 3-year-old girl in the van were also hurt.

Investigators believe the driver of the van had passed another trooper on a motorcycle, who was pulling into traffic east of Hefton. The van driver, who has a suspended driver's license, then attempted to switched positions with a woman who was riding with him, because he feared being stopped. In the process of the switch, the van lost control, striking Hefton and the Kia Sedona.

"This has been a real crazy event, obviously. We train our troopers to make all our contacts on the passenger side and he did that and that would be the leading cause of saving his life,” said Gundermann.

Troopers found marijuana and paraphernalia in the van but don’t believe the driver was impaired. Troopers arrested the driver and he was booked into the Pierce County Jail for reckless driving, possession of marijuana / paraphernalia, driving with a suspended license, and on an outstanding warrant.