EAGLE COUNTY, Colo. — Colorado State Patrol (CSP) is sharing a critical reminder after a trooper and tow truck driver were injured in a crash in Eagle County earlier this month.
Around 8 p.m. on Jan. 5, Trooper Cecil Gaddy was dispatched to a suspected DUI crash on Interstate 70 near Walcott. When he arrived, he found local tow truck driver, Alex Salgado, who had stopped to help.
Trooper Gaddy said the two were keeping an eye on the traffic around them, but things took a terrifying turn.
"We had stepped about 20 feet away from my car when we turned around to check traffic again, and that's where we saw an out-of-control driver striking my patrol vehicle," he said.
The collision sent the patrol car toward the men. Gaddy said he was pushed underneath a vehicle.
"I was hurt at the time. I crawled out from underneath the tow truck and let my dispatch know that we had both been struck and to shut the road down immediately," Gaddy recalled. "I could hear Alex screaming for help, and I walked over and got him unpinned from the back of his truck — at the back of his vehicle, where his leg was stuck — and helped pull him to the side of the road to additional safety."
Salgado was taken to the hospital with injuries to his legs and pelvis, while Trooper Gaddy sustained injuries to his arm.
- Watch Trooper Gaddy's body camera video in the player below. Warning: The video may be disturbing to some viewers
During a press conference about the incident Thursday, CSP Captain Jared Rapp reminded everyone about Colorado's Move Over or Slow Down law, which has been in effect for around 10 years.
"State Patrol has been around for 90 years, and we're begging you to stop running into us. Slow down and move over," he said.
Under state law, Colorado drivers must move over a lane whenever they encounter a disabled vehicle on the side of the highway. If drivers can't move over, they must slow down to at least 20 mph below the posted speed limit.
"We have these move over laws and slow down laws to keep these incidences from happening. But they keep happening, so we're going to seize upon the opportunity with the backdrop behind us to get that message out one more time," Captain Rapp said.
Drivers who don't abide by the law can face a Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense, with a possible fine of $150 and a three-point license violation, according to CSP.
The driver who struck the patrol car has been charged with careless driving causing injury to a vulnerable road user and failure to yield the right-of-way to a stationary emergency vehicle, according to CSP.
The driver of the initial crash was arrested for DUI, careless driving, failing to yield right-of-way to the stationary tow truck, and no proof of insurance.
CSP said 11 patrol vehicles were struck in 2024.
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