UPDATE: Massachusetts State Police seeking public’s help to find tractor-trailer that struck Lieutenant

We continue to seek the driver of a tractor-trailer who struck an MSP Lieutenant yesterday on Route 495 north in Hopkinton.

Ongoing investigation has led to more information about the sequence of events in this incident. The Lieutenant was on duty and traveling in his unmarked cruiser when he observed a different tractor-trailer that was ahead of him pull into the breakdown lane for a smoking tire. He activated his blue lights and pulled behind that tractor-trailer to protect that truck and its driver and to render any assistance needed.

As the Lieutenant exited his cruiser, he noticed the second tractor-trailer – the one that would hit him in a matter of seconds – oncoming in the breakdown lane and rapidly approaching his position. That tractor-trailer suddenly attempted to pull back into the right travel lane; the truck’s cab was able to do so and narrowly avoid hitting the Lieutenant or his cruiser, but the trailer it was pulling did not clear the Lieutenant, who was standing up against the driver’s side of his cruiser.

The trailer passing by at highway speed made contact with the Lieutenant, side-swiping and spinning him, pushing him into the passenger side of the cruiser. The impact caused injuries to his arms and hands. The trailer only made contact with the Lieutenant, who was between it and the cruiser; the trailer did not impact the cruiser. The damage to the cruiser’s rear driver’s side door was caused by the Lieutenant being pushed into it. The Lieutenant then made a radio transmission indicating he had been struck, while a civilian Good Samaritan and the other tractor-trailer driver offered assistance.

The Lieutenant, who is the commander of our Traffic Programs Section, has been released from the hospital and will be on injured leave.

In addition to the identity of the driver, the reason why the second tractor-trailer was driving in the breakdown lane remains under investigation. Anyone who has information on that truck – a Freightliner with a blue cab and white trailer, probably a model year from 1998-2001 – is asked to call the State Police-Charlton Barracks at 508-721-4040.

These photos are from the updated video of the truck we released last night:

Massachusetts State Police photo.