SOLON, Ohio — A 16-year Solon police officer suffered a serious leg injury when a drunk driver struck a parked car and pushed it into a parked Amazon delivery truck as the officer stood between the two vehicles.
The incident began at about 9:30 p.m. Aug. 4 when Solon police were notified of a road rage incident believed to have begun on I-271 southbound in Mayfield Heights. The driver of the Amazon delivery truck, a Shaker Heights man, 38, was involved in the road rage incident with the driver of a silver Nissan Maxima.
Solon police were informed that the vehicles were heading into Solon. An SPD officer spotted the Maxima on Cochran Road, near Hall Street, and conducted a traffic stop. The Amazon truck continued into Glenwillow, where police there conducted a stop and sent the truck’s driver back to the spot where the Maxima driver had been stopped.
The Amazon driver returned and stopped his truck in the northbound lane of Cochran Road, while the SPD officer spoke with the Maxima driver in the southbound lane. Meanwhile, the Amazon driver was joined by his supervisor, a Cortland woman, 37, who parked her Nissan Sentra behind the Amazon truck.
Officer Jim Koretsky, 42, walked across the street and stood between the truck and the Sentra while speaking with the supervisor, who also stood.
At this point, a man crashed his BMW X-3 into the rear of the Sentra, pushing the vehicle into the back of the truck, with the officer standing in between. The Amazon supervisor was struck by the BMW in the arm, but declined transport to a hospital.
The BMW driver was found to be a 53-year-old Cleveland Heights man who admitted to drinking wine prior to the crash. The man, who was not injured, had slurred speech and bloodshot eyes. He was found to have a blood-alcohol content of .184, above the state minimum for drunk driving of .08.
The officer was transported to the hospital. He is expected to fully recover, but will require surgery. The Amazon truck driver was not struck, nor were the parties in the Maxima.
Police charged the drunk driver with aggravated vehicular assault, a third-degree felony, as well as OVI, having a prohibited BAC, and failure to maintain an assured clear distance ahead.
The BMW and Sentra were towed from the scene. Any information gathered pertaining to the road rage incident will be forwarded to the police agencies in the communities where the incident took place.
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