Investigators at the Michigan State Police Niles Post believe narcotics were a contributing factor in Wednesday’s crash on I-94 that involved a Berrien County Sheriff’s Department patrol car, according to a release from the department.
A deputy sergeant driving a fully marked patrol car was escorting a slower moving vehicle off of the freeway with his lights activated when a pickup truck, driven by a 32-year-old Hartford man, approached at a significantly higher rate of speed and hit the patrol car in the rear bumper. The patrol car was pushed into the escorted semitruck and then into an additional semi-truck driving to the side of the patrol car.
The crash happened eastbound on I-94 near M-140 Watervliet, and caused extensive damage to the pickup truck and patrol car.
The sergeant suffered injuries and was taken to Lakeland Hospital by ambulance. He is in stable condition.
After fire personnel were able to remove the driver of the pickup, he was transferred, by ambulance, to a hospital in Kalamazoo and is in stable condition.
Currently, no criminal charges have been filed.