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State Trooper Struck By Passing Vehicle

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RALEIGH, N.C. — An officer with the North Carolina Highway Patrol was hit last Thursday by a moving car while he was conducting a routine traffic stop, the Highway Patrol said Wednesday.
  • Related Web Site:N.C. Highway Patrol Move Over Law
  • Related Web Site:Move Over Law (House Bill 288)

    At about 1 p.m., Trooper M.G. McLamb was standing on the driver's side of a stopped vehicle when a motorist struck him on U.S. Highway 301 near the N.C. Highway 59 exit just south of Fayetteville. McLamb was treated and later released from the hospital.

    A spokesman for the Highway Patrol said the motorist returned to scene and was charged with careless and reckless driving.

    The Highway Patrol said the motorist failed to move into another lane and decrease speed, violating the Move Over Law, which requires motorists to cautiously approach emergency vehicles on the shoulders of roadways.

    Since January 2002, the Highway Patrol said that 72 troopers have been struck either in or out of their patrol cars.

    Under the Move Over law, motorists are required to change lanes away from the emergency vehicle on a multi-lane highway or slow down on a two-lane highway and can do so safely. Motorists must slow down while maintaining a safe speed.

    In July, Gov. Mike Easley signed an amendment to the Move Over law, which increases the penalty from $125 to $250, effective July 1, 2006.

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