NIOSH • 1000 Frederick Lane, Morgantown, WV 26508 • 304-285-5916

Officer Struck While Assisting with 

Temporary Traffic Control on an Interstate—

Texas

(NIOSH LEO 2021-01)

FACE IT: Report Slides
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Summary

• On February 25, 2018, a 63-yearold police officer was struck by a 

vehicle, while directing traffic on 

a three-lane interstate highway. 

• The officer had responded to a 

motor vehicle versus pedestrian 

hit and run fatality on the 

interstate and was tasked to 

assist with traffic control. 

Initial motor vehicle-pedestrian scene in the distance. 

(Photo courtesy of the city police department)
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Summary

• A vehicle that was driven by an 

individual under the influence of a 

prescription drug affecting the 

central nervous system, traveling at 

approximately 68 mph, approached 

the scene, and failed to funnel off 

the interstate exit lane, striking the 

officer. 

• The officer was transported to the 

hospital in serious condition and 

succumbed to his injuries on 

April 27, 2018.

Incident scene. (Not to scale or exact placement of cones and vehicles) 

(Photo courtesy of the city Police Department. Labels added by NIOSH 

FACE) 
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Summary

Scene with Officer A’s patrol unit in Lane 1-2 and the vehicle that struck him in lane 2 in the distance. (Photo courtesy 

of the city Police Department.)
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Contributing Factors

• Fire apparatus on scene for initial incident were not utilized 

for continued scene protection

• Law enforcement officer standing in an area exposed to 

moving traffic 

• Impaired driver not following traffic patterns requiring 

heightened situational awareness
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Recommendations

• Emergency responders should position patrol units and other 

emergency vehicles as they arrive on-scene to maximize the 

protected work zone for the emergency responders.

• Law enforcement agencies should ensure their standard operating 

procedure (SOP) provides step-by-step guidance on how to properly 

establish a temporary traffic control plan, including advance warning 

and transition areas for highway/roadway emergency incidents.

• Law enforcement officers and other emergency responders should 

maintain situational awareness within the established temporary 

traffic control zone to ensure they minimize their exposure to 

oncoming traffic. 
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Recommendations

Traffic Incident Management Area (TIMA) Temporary Traffic Control Zone example. 

Source: Emergency Responder Safety Institute: Responder Safety
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Recommendations

• State, county, and municipal agencies responding to roadway incidents 

are encouraged to use and practice the National Incident Management 

System Incident Command System to guide the shift change process 

during emergency events.

• State, county, and municipal authorities should consider promoting 

public awareness campaigns to inform motorists of the risks that law 

enforcement officers face while operating along the roadside and of 

the need to follow “Move Over” laws. 

• State, county, and municipal authorities should consider promoting 

public awareness campaigns to educate motorists of the limitations 

that substances and/or medications may impose on safe operation of 

motor vehicles and the dangers that impaired driving imposes on 

motorists and others.
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Officer Struck While 

Assisting with Temporary 

Traffic Control on an 

Interstate—Texas

(NIOSH LEO 2021-01)

Download the full report: 

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/leo/pdfs/L202101.pdf
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Contact Us

Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation 

Surveillance and Field Investigations Branch

Division of Safety Research, NIOSH

1000 Frederick Lane, M/S 1808

Morgantown, West Virginia 26505-2888

FACE Web Site: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/

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