JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville sheriff's officer is seriously injured after being involved in a crash on Interstate 95 South in Jacksonville Monday night on his way home from work, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
JSO Commander Dan Shelton says around 9:56 p.m., the officer whose identity was not released by JSO, was heading home after his shift, as he was on I-95 South between Emerson Street and University Boulevard West when he encountered "bumper to bumper traffic."
Shelton told First Coast News a black Nissan Altima was able to "swerve out of the way" from behind a semi-truck, from the center lane to the right lane. The officer was behind the Nissan in the center lane.
Police said the officer "was not able to stop in time," and as a result, the front right of his marked JSO Ford Explorer struck the left rear of the Nissan before striking the back of the semi-truck.
The officer was then taken to a local hospital with "serious, non-life-threatening injuries," according to JSO; the agency said he is stable at this time and nobody else was hospitalized.
Shelton noted that the officer was not en route to a call and did not have sirens activated.
When asked how fast the officer was driving, Shelton said: "We'll be looking at all of that. Obviously, downloading computer on the police vehicle, and that information will be provided by our PIO unit at a later date."
Additionally, Shelton said the sheriff's office will be looking at why there was "stop-and-go traffic" on the interstate before the crash happened in its investigation.
When asked if construction in the area where the crash happened may have played a factor in the crash, Shelton said: "Apparently, talking with the lieutenant on scene, typically that is shut down for construction. But, it doesn't appear anything was set up yet, so I don't believe construction played anything in reference to this."
Shelton said JSO's traffic homicide unit is conducting an investigation into the crash.