NEWS

1 charged with DUI after wreck involving MHP cruiser

Therese Apel
The Clarion-Ledger

A driver has been charged with DUI after striking the back of a Mississippi Highway Patrol cruiser parked on I-55.

A Mississippi Highway Patrol vehicle was struck by a motorist early Sunday morning. The motorist has been charged with DUI.

MHP spokesman Cpl. Brandon Fortenberry said around 1:11 a.m. Sunday a trooper had pulled over, along with two motorists, to help a stranded driver near the 122-mile marker when an Infinity struck the back of the cruiser, causing it to collide with the Toyota and the Nissan driven by the others who had stopped to help. The only car not affected by the wreck was the original stranded motorist's Chevrolet Impala.

The trooper and assisting motorists were away from their vehicles and in the median looking for a tire when the wreck occurred, Fortenberry said, so none of them were injured.

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Fortenberry confirmed that the trooper's blue lights were activated.

The driver of the Infinity has been charged with DUI but has not yet been identified. There were two passengers in that vehicle who were both treated for minor injuries.

Two MHP vehicles were struck by alleged distracted drivers in a week in July.

The "Move Over Law" went into effect in 2007. When drivers on multiple-lane roads approach emergency or law enforcement vehicles on the side of the road, they are required to move over at least one lane and if they can't, they're required to slow to a reasonable speed.

Contact Therese Apel at tapel@gannett.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.