Pickup truck launched into air by semi, hits Iowa State Police car

IOWA CITY, Iowa, March 21 (UPI) -- The Iowa State Police said a pickup truck struck by a semi on an interstate flew through the air and struck a patrol car, but there were no serious injuries.

State police said Trooper Jesse Hernandez was in his unmarked patrol car the morning of March 14 speaking to two Johnson County sheriff's deputies near the scene of a crash on westbound Interstate 80 in Johnson County when a semi driver became distracted by the activity and drove his truck into the back of a pickup, WQAD-TV, Moline, Ill., reported Friday.

The pickup, driven by Dana Miller of Eldridge, became airborne and clipped Hernandez's car before striking the mile 232 marker and coming to a rest in the roadside ditch.

Miller was wearing a seatbelt and was not injured. Hernandez was treated and released at a hospital.

The semi-trailer truck driver, Michael Smith, 49, or Arlington, was cited for failure to maintain control of his vehicle.