County honors ‘Jeopardy!’ sensation with key to Las Vegas Strip Truck hits highway trooper
Injuries not serious; driver appeared to accelerate intentionally
The Nevada Highway Patrol said a driver appeared to intentionally speed up to hit a trooper during a traffic stop in the east valley early Thursday.
The trooper is a member of the Highway Patrol and Metropolitan Police Department’s DUI Strike Team. He was with his partner, a Metro officer, when they pulled over a wrong-way driver on Boulder Highway near Desert Inn Road at about 1:20 a.m., Highway Patrol spokesman Travis Smaka said during a news conference Thursday afternoon.
As the trooper was standing outside of his patrol vehicle’s driver door, a truck
drove up behind him, appeared to accelerate, and struck him.
The trooper dived to avoid the truck but was clipped, Smaka said. He was taken to University Medical Center, treated and released. His name will be released in 48 hours, the spokesman said.
“We’re very lucky,” Smaka said.
“He’s pretty banged up, but he told me this morning when I spoke to him that he doesn’t have anything broken.”
The trooper and the Metro officer were taking a DUI suspect to the Clark County Detention Center when they pulled over another man driving south in the northbound lanes of Boulder Highway, Smaka said. The two were waiting for additional officers to take over the investigation into the wrong-way
driver when the truck came up from behind them.
“On the video you can hear an engine accelerating,” Smaka said. “It’s likely that this was an intentional act.”
Smaka said the truck appeared to be a dark-colored, newer model with four doors and a short truck bed. It might have damage to the front left side because of the collision.
The Highway Patrol had not located
the driver, Smaka said. It was unclear what charges the person might face.
“We’re putting a lot of effort into this, because if somebody is willing to accelerate into a state trooper, they’re a danger to any other member of this community,” Smaka said.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.