Lake Ronkonkoma, NY — A police officer who was simply trying to direct traffic on the LIE (Long Island Expressway) was injured this Monday, April 27, after his patrol car was hit and dragged by an 18-wheeler truck. He was identified as Suffolk Officer Arthur Hull. This happened early in the morning, around 5:00 a.m., near Exit 60 in Lake Ronkonoma.
So far, not many details have been released yet, but it appears that Hull received only minor to moderate injuries and was taken to a hospital to be discharged on Tuesday of this week.
The accident itself happened as Hill was directing traffic for a construction zone on the LIE. He was apparently getting in his patrol car when an 18-wheeler came upon him and was unable to brake in time, crashing into the back and side of Hull’s car.
The 18-wheeler then dragged Hull’s car for a distance and flung it several hundred feet down the LIE, where it crashed into a guardrail.
Despite the severity of the wreck, it appears that Officer Hull was not seriously injured. More details will be released later, though it’s not clear if the truck driver will face charges.
Map of the Accident
Commentary:
Some of the news reports are saying that the 18-wheeler here “could not have avoided” hitting the officer’s car, but I don’t really buy that — do you? I’m sure that things were dark that morning and that the truck driver wasn’t anticipating seeing a police car in his path, but then again, wasn’t this a construction zone? And shouldn’t the police officer’s lights have been flashing?
I don’t want to start jumping to conclusions or anything, but this hardly sounds like the kind of accident that couldn’t have been avoided. If anything, I’m suspicious that the truck driver wasn’t really paying attention that morning. There needs to be some more investigation into this, to be sure.
— Grossman Law Offices
