WEST FORK (KFSM) — A West Fork officer received minor injuries Sunday night while assisting with traffic accidents on Interstate 49 due to ice.
According to Officer Tyler Underwood, public information officer with the West Fork Police, the department was asked to assist Arkansas State Police and Central EMS on an accident located about a mile south of the West Fork exit in the southbound lanes of Interstate 49. It was about 10:07 p.m., with light flurries falling.
West Fork Police Officer Jeremy Riley was trying to slow traffic by parking his vehicle on the west side shoulder of I-49 southbound with his lights flashing, Underwood said.
Riley’s Chevrolet Tahoe was struck by another vehicle while he was inside, Underwood said. Riley complained of minor whiplash and took a precautionary trip to the hospital to be checked out. He was treated and released Sunday night, Underwood said.
Underwood said the accident damaged the SUV, but they were still gathering information for the insurance company to determine whether the vehicle would be repaired or totaled.
Underwood said he hadn’t spoken to the State Police officer on duty at the time and didn’t know if the motorist involved had been cited for the accident.
