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Charleston DPS officer injured after semi-truck strikes rear of patrol car
An officer with Charleston Department of Public Safety received serious injuries after a semi-truck struck the rear of his patrol car Tuesday in Mississippi County.
According to Missouri State Highway Patrol, the crash occurred at 7:18 p.m. on northbound Interstate 57 at the 14.2 mile marker. The Patrol said the northbound semi-truck driven by Kenneth D. White, 44, of Memphis, Tennessee, was traveling too fast for road conditions and failed to yield to the lights of the northbound patrol car operated by Charleston DPS Officer Joshua A. Maldonado, 32, of Charleston and struck the rear of the patrol car. The interstate was reportedly shut down for several hours.
Maldonado was flown to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
According to Charleston DPS Director Robert Hearnes, Maldonado has been treated and released.
“Keep him in your thoughts and prayers,” Hearnes said of Maldonado in a social media post. “When you see first responders ahead, please slow down.”
Other area emergency responders have also had close calls with motorists this week in the icy conditions.
Capt. Nathan Rapert, with Miner Police Department, said his patrol vehicle was struck late Tuesday and sustained minor damage but was driven from the scene. He was not injured in the incident, Rapert said.
“We did have two other officers who were almost struck by sliding vehicles while working previous accidents, but no actual incidents of officers being struck, other than my vehicle,” Rapert said. “We worked approximately six to eight accidents that night, and I believe four more Wednesday morning.”
A Poplar Bluff Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper was struck shortly before 2 a.m. Wednesday while responding to an accident on Highway 60, north of Poplar Bluff at the Marble Hill Road overpass. According to Sgt. Clark Parrot, treacherous road conditions have caused several accidents in the area. “We had multiple tractor trailers jack-knife, then we had a patrol car hit. A trooper was sent to the hospital,” he said. “We got it back open about an hour ago, we had Highway 60 eastbound from the 60-67 split at the highway shut down for about eight hours.”
Parrott said the trooper was working another crash at the Marble Hill overpass.
“He was at a crash. There were tractor-trailers wadded up, and he and a truck driver were in his patrol vehicle. A commercial vehicle came up behind him, hit a wrecker, and the wrecker hit (his vehicle),” Parrott said.
Parrott said the trooper was expected to be released from the hospital Wednesday.
A total of five vehicles were involved in the accident, according to MSHP crash reports. They included the Hughes’ 2021 Ford Interceptor, a 2019 Freightliner Cascadia, a 2021 Ford F-650, a 1996 Kenworth Construct and a 2019 Ford F-550. The Interceptor and the Cascadia were towed from the scene. The other three vehicles were driven from the scene.
The accidents included both eastbound and westbound traffic.
Hughes was the only injury reported in this accident. His injuries were reported as minor.
“We’re continuing over on the interstate. We’ve got tractor-trailers on 57 and 55. Southeast Missouri is a mess right now,” Parrott said Wednesday morning.
Parrott added a Charleston police officer was also injured Tuesday night and was flown to a Cape Girardeau hospital. Joshua A. Maldonado, 32, of Charleston received serious injuries in a two vehicle accident on Interstate 57, according to reports. It involved his 2016 Ford Taurus and a 2022 Freighliner, which crashed into the officer’s vehicle.
The Butler County state roads were all open as of 10 a.m. Wednesday morning, according to Parrott, but he urged people to stay off them.
“I want people to quit driving. I want people to make beef stew and chili today, and stay home,” he said.
Highway 67 north of Poplar Bluff was temporarily closed earlier in the day Tuesday, after multiple semi truck accidents blocked the road from Highway O at Hendrickson to York Village.
According to Parrott, after two semi trucks blocked Highway 67 north, two other semi trucks also went off the highway.
Crews with the Missouri Department of Transportation, Wayne County Sheriff’s Department and towing companies helped remove the vehicles involved in the two incidents in northern Butler County and southern Wayne County.
The Daily American Republic contributed to this story.