A Maryland state trooper was rushed to a hospital after a car crashed into his SUV on the Capital Beltway early Monday.
The trooper was inside a marked SUV that was parked in a construction zone when it was rear-ended about 4:30 a.m.
"At the time of the crash, the trooper was working an overtime assignment for the state highway and he was inside of a work zone when he was rear-ended by a Mercedes SUV," state police spokesperson Elena Russo said.
Police said they suspect the driver who hit the trooper, a 31-year-old D.C. man, was impaired at the time of the crash.
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The trooper was injured and was taken to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center.
The resulting backup snarled morning rush hour traffic for miles, allowing crash investigators time to examine and document the scene and allowing drivers time to contemplate road safety, especially around work zones.
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"Everything was there to warn motorists that a work zone was ahead," Russo said. "You had the orange cones, the illuminated blinking arrow lights; you had the trooper's emergency lights activated, yet it still didn't deter this motorist from rear-ending our trooper."
An investigation into the crash will also probe whether the driver of the SUV was impaired.
Earlier this year in Baltimore, a driver drove into a work zone, killing six road workers.
Just last month, state officials highlighted the need for drivers to slow down around work zones. The state plans to form a work zone safety working group.
