State trooper injured when squad struck by suspected impaired driver

A driver accused of being intoxicated crashed his vehicle head-on into a parked Illinois State Police squad early Sunday morning near Plainfield, injuring a trooper sitting inside, state police said.

According to state police, the trooper was stopped with the squad's emergency lights on along Interstate 55 near Route 126 when a 2017 Acura slammed into the vehicle at about 1:25 a.m.

The trooper was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries, authorities said.

The driver of the Acura, 36-year-old Liem T. Nguyen of Joliet, is charged with driving under the influence and a violation of Scott's Law, state police said.

So far this year, there have been 21 state police squad cars struck by violators of Scott's Law, leaving 13 troopers injured, officials said. The law, also known as the "Move Over" law, requires drivers approaching an emergency vehicle, or any vehicle with their emergency or hazard lights activated, to slow down and move over.