MONONA, Wis. — A police officer was injured after a tow truck collided with a squad car Monday night.
Monona police officers were conducting a traffic stop in connection to a 911 call. The vehicle they stopped pulled into the left lane. The traffic stop was being conducted at S/B Highway 51 near Pflaum Road. Two marked Monona Police cars with full emergency police lights activated were involved in the stop.
Monona police chief Brian Chaney said less than a minute later, a Finish Line Towing tow truck traveling in the left lane collided into the rear of the secondary squad car. An officer was in the driver’s seat of the vehicle. When the tow truck hit the squad car, it got pushed into the roadway.
Finish Line Towing had not been summoned to the traffic stop, Chaney confirmed. Precision Towing took the squad car to a police facility.
Chaney said the officer in the car has serious injuries, but they are not life threatening. Paramedics took the officer to a local hospital. The officer was admitted, but Chaney said the officer is expected to be discharged “in the near future.”
The injured officer will be on paid leave while they recover.
“The officer’s actions in properly positioning the vehicle along the roadway during the traffic stop, as well as the structural design of our 2023 Ford Police Interceptor, both likely saved this officer’s life,” Chaney said.
The Madison Police Department conducted a crash investigation. Police said the truck driver was “operating inattentively” and failed to move over and slow down for the police cars that were conducting the stop.
Chaney said Madison police issued citations for the tow truck driver.
Chaney said he wanted to remind all drivers that “distracted driving is dangerous driving,” and all drivers should pay attention to their surroundings.
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