After 3 troopers are hit, police urge caution on the roads

WASHINGTON —   Two Virginia State Police troopers have been released from the hospital and are recovering from their injuries after being struck in separate accidents Tuesday.

In another Tuesday accident, a Virginia trooper suffered only minor injuries and wasn’t hospitalized, but the driver who hit him died in the crash.

Around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, Trooper I.J. Dallam was parked on the left side of I-95 in Prince William County when the driver of an SUV struck his cruiser. Speed is blamed for the crash.

“A vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed lost control, overturned and ran off the roadway, striking the trooper’s vehicle,” says First Sgt. Steven Mittendorff,  commander of the Arlington Field Office of the Virginia State Police.

Dallam had serious but not life-threatening injuries, the state police said in a statement Tuesday, and has been released from the hospital. Corey Saenz, 23, of Quantico, suffered a minor injury, the police say in a statement, but refused treatment. He has been charged with reckless driving.

A few hours later, at about 8:30 a.m., the police say, Master Trooper J.M. Craig’s patrol car was one of three trying to pull a car over in the city of Suffolk that the police say was clocked at 76 mph in a 45 mph zone on Route 460. The suspect’s speed eventually reached 105 mph in a 55 mph zone before sideswiping Craig’s car on Route 58, reversing direction and hitting Craig’s car, which by this time was pulled over to the shoulder, again.

The second impact caused the suspect to lose control, the police say, run off the road and hit a tree, catching fire. The suspect died at the scene, the police say; they haven’t released the driver’s identity yet. Craig suffered minor injuries; he wasn’t taken to the hospital.

And around 2 p.m., Trooper M.I. Campbell had pulled over Guomin Qui, 50, of McLean, on westbound Interstate 66 in Fairfax County between Route 7 and the Beltway for having expired license plates. While Campbell was out of his car speaking with Qui, the police say, a Volvo driven by Ian Smart, 70, of Adelphi, Maryland, ran off the road, driving Campbell’s cruiser into Qui’s Chrysler, which then struck Campbell.

Mittendorf says Smart “fell asleep behind the wheel of his vehicle.”

Campbell, Smart, Qui and Qui’s passenger were all taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Smart was charged with failure to maintain control of his vehicle and failing to move over for a stopped emergency vehicle.

MIttendorf describes the troopers’ conditions as “very good” after their release from the hospital.

Police remind motorists to use extra caution when encountering emergency responders at work on highways.

Both Virginia and Maryland have “Move Over Laws.”

“The law in Virginia requires that  you slow down and move over to the next lane,” Mittendorff says.  The law is similar in Maryland. If it’s unsafe to change lanes, motorists are still required to slow down when passing responders, including police, fire, ambulances and emergency road crews like tow trucks.”

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service offers tips to motorists to help keep emergency responders safe on the roadways.  Motorists are urged to pay close attention and watch for police or fire direction; turn on headlights; don’t tailgate, keep with traffic flow and minimize distractions.

Dick Uliano

Whether anchoring the news inside the Glass-Enclosed Nerve Center or reporting from the scene in Maryland, Virginia or the District, Dick Uliano is always looking for the stories that really impact people's lives.

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