A North Carlina State Highway Patrol trooper was injured Friday morning when a driver stuck his vehicle along Interstate 485 in Mecklenburg County.
The driver and his passenger, a child, 3, were seriously injured and taken to a hospital, 1st Sgt. Christopher Knox of the Highway Patrol said in a news release.
All lanes of the outer loop were closed for several hours after the crash.
Trooper Brad Gaines was parked outside travel lanes around 9:35 a.m. near the 65.2 mile marker when he was struck by a white Honda Accord driven by Willie James McClain, 33, of York, South Carolina, Knox said. A 3-year-old was also in the Accord, Knox said.
The crash happened when McClain failed to stay in his lane and went off the road, hitting the parked Highway Patrol vehicle, Knox said, adding that charges would be forthcoming.
Gaines was taken to a hospital with injuries that weren’t life-threatening, Knox said, while McClain and the child were taken to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.