Police: Driver hit two IDOT trucks

Chronicle Media

A Gary, Indiana man has been charged in connection with an accident in which two IDOT trucks were hit.

Joseph McClendon-Brough, 20, was issued seven citations for the accident, which occurred at 1:23 a.m. Sunday (June 7) when two Illinois Department of Transportation maintenance trucks were struck while assisting Illinois State Police with closing the Bishop Ford Freeway’s Chinatown northbound feeder ramp near 31st Street.

State Police said McClendon-Brough, traveling in a black Chevrolet, failed to yield the right of way to the stationary emergency vehicles and hit the rear of the two IDOT trucks.

Both IDOT maintenance truck operators were inside of the vehicles when they were struck. One of the IDOT drivers, a man in his 50s, was taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

McClendon-Brough was also taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police cited McClendon-Brough with operating an uninsured vehicle, driving too fast for conditions, improper lane use, operating a motor vehicle while using an electronic communication device, improper passing an emergency vehicle, improper passing an emergency vehicle causing injury to another, and improper passing an emergency vehicle causing property damage to another.

The State Police issued a reminder in connection with the incident that driving while distracted is dangerous and could end in tragedy. State Police added that it is imperative to follow Scott’s Law, otherwise known as the “Move Over” law. It requires that when approaching an emergency vehicle or any vehicle with emergency lights activated, drivers are required to slow down and change lanes when it is safe to do so.

The law is named after Lt. Scott Gillen of the Chicago Fire Department who was struck and killed by an intoxicated driver while assisting at a crash scene on the Bishop Ford Freeway.