State Police trooper seriously injured after cruiser hit on North Shore highway

Local News

The officer has been released from Portsmouth Regional Hospital to recover from his injuries at home, state police said.

A State Police trooper was seriously injured Saturday after a car crashed into his police SUV on a Salisbury highway, State Police said. 

The trooper had stopped on I-95 South to remove a ladder from the roadway Saturday afternoon, the agency said in a press release. After he got back into his cruiser, another vehicle suddenly struck the trooper’s car.

Both people involved in the crash were sent to local hospitals, with the trooper seriously injured, State Police said.

On Feb. 15, the trooper involved in the crash was discharged from Portsmouth Regional Hospital to recover at home, State Police announced.

State Police identified the driver who hit the trooper as Lawrence resident Josue Levi Cuevas Santana, 24. He will be criminally summoned for charges of negligent operation, speeding, using a mobile device while driving, and failure to move over for an emergency vehicle, State Police said. 

“This incident also underscores a broader, ongoing concern for the safety of those who work on our highways. Far too often, drivers fail in their responsibility to slow down and move over when approaching emergency vehicles displaying their lights. This law exists to protect lives. If not for this trooper’s decision to wear his seatbelt, the outcome could have been even more tragic,” State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble said in the press release.