Two Injured in Crash With Patrol Car That Shut Down I-81 For Hours in Cicero

An Onondaga County Sheriff's deputy at the scene of another accident is lucky to be alive after a driver failed to move over and crashed into a parked patrol car on 81 in Cicero.

I-81 southbound was shut down for several hours early Friday morning, August 28th after two separate accidents. A deputy responded to reports of a car hitting a guardrail near Exit 30 aroudn 2:30am. When the deputy arrived, the driver had taken off, according to the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office.

While investigating, an SUV ran into the parked patrol car. Luckily the deputy was not in the car at the time and wasn't injured.

The driver of the SUV and a passenger weren't as fortunate. Both were taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries they sustained in the crash.

Drivers failing to move over for emergency vehicles happens more often than you think.

Last month four people were sent to the hospital when a New York State Police SUV was rear-ended during a traffic stop on the shoulder of Interstate 88 in Otsego County. A driver failed to slow down or change lanes and struck a state police vehicle from behind so hard it was pushed into the other vehcile pulled over.

In February, a trooper was stepping out of his vehicle to issue a citation. He heard a radio transmission and shut the door to listen. Seconds later a driver crashed into the patrol car, pushing it into the stopped vehicle. If the radio transmission hadn't happened or came through seconds later, the crash could have been tragic.

In January, a trooper investigating an accident in Salina was struck when someone failed to move into the left lane to pass. While the driver of the other vehicle was not injured, the trooper suffered minor injuries.

Since the Move Over law was first enacted in 2011, more than 100,000 people have been ticketed for failing to move over. If you see an emergency vehicle on the side of the road, MOVE OVER. If you can't move over, slow down.

It's that simple! And it's the law.