Tractor-trailer driver hits parked trooper

March 10, 2005|by CANDICE BOSELY

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A West Virginia State Police cruiser parked outside of the Berkeley County Courthouse in Martinsburg on Wednesday afternoon was hit by a tractor-trailer whose driver was trying to make a right turn, according to police.

The driver of the truck, Terri McClendon, 43, of Amarillo, Texas, initially drove away from the accident site but was pulled over minutes later, said Sgt. Eric Burnett of the West Virginia State Police.

McClendon was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and failure to maintain control. A Public Service Commission officer also cited her for alleged log book violations, police said.

The cruiser was not occupied when it was hit. The driver, Sgt. Carl Mahood, was in a courtroom for a civil trial, Burnett said.

The collision happened at 12:39 p.m. Damage was estimated at $1,500 to $2,000, Burnett said.

The tractor-trailer hit the cruiser when the driver tried to turn right from Queen Street onto King Street, he said. The driver first ran onto the curb, hit a traffic light post and then hit the rear driver's side of the cruiser, crushing a section of it, Burnett said.

After hitting the cruiser, the rig became entangled with it and the driver had to back up to free her trailer, Burnett said.

Witnesses called police and a be-on-the-lookout warning for the tractor-trailer was broadcast over police radio frequencies, police said.

The driver continued driving along King Street and turned left onto Winchester Avenue, where she was pulled over by Lt. K.C. Bohrer, with the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department.

McClendon told police it was her seventh day on the job. She was hauling 17,000 pounds of medical supplies and was heading to a trucking facility on Corning Way, off Winchester Avenue, police said.

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