OHP trooper hurt in accident

March 23, 2009 01:02 pm

— CLAREMORE, Okla. (AP) — An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper and six others were injured Sunday afternoon when a pickup truck hit his cruiser as he was conducting a traffic stop on another vehicle on Interstate 44, the OHP said.
Trooper Chris Simpson sustained a possible head injury and was taken by ambulance to St. John Hospital in Tulsa in stable condition, Lt. George Brown, an OHP spokesman, said.
Some of the other six, which include two children, were transported by medical helicopter to nearby hospitals, Brown said.
Simpson had stopped a van just before 4 p.m. in the westbound lanes of Will Rogers Turnpike, Brown said. Inside were 15 people, including multiple children, Brown said.
“A Ford Ranger, for some unknown reason, left the roadway, struck the trooper in the rear of the car, knocking him into the van,” Brown said.
All four people in the truck were transported to the hospital, but Brown didn’t know the extent of any of the injuries to them or the children.
“Through our investigation and after conducting interviews, we’ve found that the driver of the Ford Ranger possibly suffered from leg cramps, causing him to leave the roadway,” Brown said.
Westbound traffic was diverted off the highway at the Big Cabin exit, he said.