SYLVANIA

Trooper injured as truck hits patrol car

Accident on U.S. 23 occurs in work zone

11/17/2013

An Ohio Highway Patrol trooper from the Toledo post was injured when a pickup crashed into a cruiser stopped in a work zone late Friday night.

Trooper Jacquelyn Layson, 41, was taken to Toledo Hospital with injuries not thought life-threatening, according to the patrol.

Trooper Layson was stopped in U.S. 23’s northbound right lane in Sylvania south of the Monroe Street exit. Her patrol car’s emergency lights were activated to assist traffic control for the work zone when her patrol car was struck about midnight by a pickup truck driven by Jacob B. Armentrout, 21, of Temperance, troopers said.

Several construction vehicles were parked in front of the cruiser with lighted arrow boards to indicate the right lane was closed, and warning signs were in place south of the work area, the report said.

But Mr. Armentrout, whose pickup towed a flatbed trailer, failed to slow down in time and swerved to avoid striking stopped traffic; he struck Trooper Layson’s cruiser in the right rear and then hit a guardrail off the right shoulder.

Mr. Armentrout, who was not hurt, was cited for failure to maintain assured clear distance.