Officer Struck "At Full Speed" at I-35W Rest Stop near Flower Mound, TX

I just heard a few minutes ago that an officer (possibly a DPS trooper) was struck "at full speed" by a Lexus at a rest stop on I-35W possibly near Flower Mound, TX. Both the trooper and the driver of the pickup he stopped had leg injuries.

CareFlite was put on standby then disregarded, so hopefully it's not too bad. A Denton County Sheriff's Deputy was calling for DPS supervisors other and Denton County Sheriff Deputies. Medics (believed to be from Flower Mound) responded and two were enroute to the hospital, last I heard.

We may have to wait till tomorrow to find out how serious it was and exactly who it was.

Gods watch over the Officer and the other driver.

Do we know if they got the asshole in the Lexus?
This is why WA has instituted a law that states that you MUST move over and leave the lane next to the TS empty.

The deputy was calling in the tags and so forth from the Lexus and calling for 3 wreckers, so I think they have her in custody. They also mentioned airbag deployment in both cars, so hopefully she's in pain. :thumb:

I'm pretty sure they said it was a female driver that hit them.

It sounded like the trooper had the pickup pulled off in the rest stop and was standing by the pickup when he got hit.

Those little I-35W rest stops in Flower Mound are pretty much straight-through with no sharp curves, as I remember, so it is entirely possible that a car can be traveling at 60-70 MPH through there.

So it remains to be said that we must be ever so vigilant in EVERY aspect of our job. God bless him and I hope he is alright.

It was definitely a DPS Trooper who got injured and it was definitely on I-35W near Flower Mound.

I saw a brief story on the TV news this morning, but about all they said was that the trooper was injured and all 3 people went to the hospital.

They also showed pictures showing the trooper's car, which was bashed up pretty bad, and said that both the pickup driver AND the woman in the Lexus that hit them are under suspicion for DWI - No shock there. :mad:

I haven't been able to find anything on the web, though.

Keep us posted with updates please. Prayers sent.

I hope the Trooper is okay and able to make a full recovery. People who don't pay attention behind the wheel/drive drunk make me sick. The "Move Over" laws need to be advertised more, it seems to me like the majoirty of the public doesn't even know about them (like idiots).

I called the DPS public info number this afternoon but got a recording saying that their office was closed for the holidays - Maybe that's why I still can't find anything on the web about it.

They gave an after-hours number, but said it was only to be used for emergency news media contacts, or something to that effect.

4/7/07 9:10pm:

I finally found a video report of the Trooper's condition - the ONLY Report I could find. I even called the DPS Public Info office, but it was closed for the holidays.

VIDEO: Trooper Injured on I35 Rest Stop

Trooper expected to survive, with some broken bones... But as we all know, some broken bones are career-ending. I hope he recovers. :(

According to an email I received, the DPS Trooper is now resting at home. :p

Contrary to TV reports, no bones were broken. He does however have a sprained ankle "the size of a grapefruit".

He was very lucky considering how it could have turned out if the car hadn't hit his cruiser before it hit him!!!

glad the trooper is ok...no surprise about the two dwi's

Im so glad the Trooper is ok.

Quote:

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Contrary to TV reports, no bones were broken. He does however have a sprained ankle "the size of a grapefruit".

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Ouch. And yet such good news. Thanks for the update, Charlie.

Glad there was a happy outcome.

We've had too many where the officer's were between the vehicles. :(