Trooper injured as semi smashes into cruiser

A tractor trailer with a driver asleep at the wheel slammed into a flashing, unmarked state police cruiser protecting a work zone, seriously injuring the trooper inside, according to state police.

The truck smashed into the rear of the cruiser at about 11:44 p.m. Tuesday and then jack-knifed across the highway on Interstate 95 south in Weston.

The trooper, who was on a protection detail for a crew trimming trees, suffered serious injuries but remained alert and radioed in the crash himself. He was released from Brigham and Women’s Hospital Wednesday morning and will be on injured leave.

The truck was being operated by a 27-year-old driver from Montreal who fell asleep at the wheel before approaching the work zone, police said. The driver was not identified.

The truck, a 2020 Freightliner Cascadia, smashed through a line of traffic barrels, marker cones and a lane reduction arrow before careening into the rear of the cruiser, police said.

The driver awoke at the last minute and hit the brakes before crashing into the cruiser and then jackknifing across the highway, according to police.

The driver will be summoned to court on charges.