Video shows a motorist traveling along the highway shoulder before smashing directly into freeway safety patrol vehicle contracted by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT).
The crash took place Tuesday morning, shortly after a contracted ODOT freeway safety patrol vehicle helped clear an unrelated crash scene on Interstate 270 at Sawmill Road in Columbus.
Video shared by ODOT shows the patrol vehicle stopped just before an exit, straddling the line between the paved shoulder and the grass alongside the highway. A car traveling in the right lane toward the exit for some reason shifts farther right onto the paved shoulder while several car lengths behind the patrol vehicle. The car continues traveling along the shoulder and shows no signs of slowing before crashing at full speed into the patrol vehicle.
“Thankfully, there were no life-threatening injuries,” ODOT said. “This is yet another reminder to move over, slow down, and pay attention while on the road.”
In an update Wednesday, ODOT shared another video angle of the crash, from what appears to be a camera mounted on the patrol vehicle.
The agency said that so far this year, the contractors who operate ODOT’s freeway safety patrol have been struck 13 times.
“ODOT employees, vehicles, and equipment have been hit 92 times this year,” the agency said. “Again, move over, slow down, pay attention!”