State trooper injured by tire from semi

4/8/2006

A state trooper was injured early yesterday when a tire came off a tractor-trailer and hit him as he did a traffic stop on the Ohio Turnpike, the Ohio Highway Patrol reported.

Trooper T.J. Vaculik of the patrol s Swanton post suffered a broken collarbone, severe bruises, and swelling in his right arm after the 5:18 a.m. accident, the patrol said. He was treated at Medical University of Ohio Medical Center. The truck s driver was identified as Robert Logan of Toledo.

The patrol said the accident occurred as Trooper Vaculik walked to a vehicle he had stopped for speeding. The right rear tandem wheels came off a passing tractor-trailer rig and struck the patrol car. One of the wheels hit the trooper. Unaware that the wheels had come off, Mr. Logan drove to the Indiana line, where he was detained for investigation, troopers said.