It's been a month and a half since Minnesota State Trooper Renee Adrian's squad was plowed into by a motorist who tells troopers he fell asleep. "I'm still getting headaches and I still have some problems with my neck and back, but I'm definitely lucky to be alive," Adrian said.
Adrian was sitting in her parked squad, lights flashing, in the left lane of I-94 on March 9th. Her lights were supposed to be a warning signal for passing motorists to move over due to a crash 200 yards ahead.
"I just hit my head when I was hit. He kind of drifted off onto the shoulder and hit me on the driver side which made my car spin this way and end up in the right lane," Adrian recalls. She doesn't remember everything, but traffic management camera video released Monday shows her squad being pushed across 4 lanes of traffic after it was hit.
"I've watched it about 100 times since then. I tend to watch it right before work, just as a reminder," Adrian explained. The driver told troopers he fell asleep on his way home from a long day at work.
The Minneapolis City Attorney is looking into possible charges. The video is a good reminder to motorists to remember the "move over law." Last year troopers issued 449 citations and 1,656 warnings for move over violations. From 2001 to 2005, 126 troopers have been injured in roadside crashes.