Missouri trooper has close call with semi on freeway

Nearly every state has move-over laws, but drivers tend to ignore them. A close call on a Missouri highway this week should serve as a reminder to all drivers to move over for emergency and law-enforcement vehicles. A state trooper's cruiser was sideswiped by a speeding semi as the officer wrapped up a traffic stop on Interstate 70.

"We've had four troopers killed in the line of duty because people have not moved over," Sgt. Bill Lowe of the Missouri State Highway Patrol told Fox4KC. "It's frustrating in that it's an easy thing to do. You're doing a courteous thing by moving over." In fact, 131 Missouri of Department of Transportation workers have been killed in the line of duty, though it's not clear how many of them were hit by passing vehicles. In the first two months of 2016, nine Missouri Department of Transportation vehicles have been struck by other passing motorists.

The trooper was not hurt in this incident, but his patrol car is likely totaled, Fox4KC reported. The truck driver stopped farther up the road and received a citation. This incident is eerily similar to a video that surfaced late last year on the same freeway. A brand-new patrolmen pulled over a car on I-70 only to have a big rig take out his side mirror and spotlight. Last year, 29 officers lost their lives in car accidents, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.