A Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputy and a Hillsboro man were injured in a crash this morning, May 13, when the deputy’s police cruiser and a pickup collided on Hwy. 21, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
The deputy, a 41-year-old Hillsboro man, was treated and released from an area hospital this morning, the report said.
The Sheriff’s Office did not release the deputy’s name. Spokesman Grant Bissell said the deputy went home after being released from the hospital, and it is not known when he will be able to return to active duty.
At 3:10 a.m., the deputy, in a 2018 Ford Taurus, reportedly attempted to merge from the right shoulder onto northbound Hwy. 21 south of mile marker 183.2 in the Meramec Heights area while a 61-year-old Hillsboro man driving a northbound 2005 Dodge Ram pickup was approaching in the right lane. Both drivers steered to the left to avoid each other, but the front of the pickup struck the left side of the patrol car, the report said.
After the collision, the patrol car came to rest in the center median, and the pickup came to rest in the northbound right lane, according to the report.
Both men were moderately injured and taken by Rock Township Ambulance to Mercy Hospital South in St. Louis County, the report said.
The two men were wearing seat belts, the patrol reported.
Both vehicles were extensively damaged, the report said.
Bissell said the Sheriff’s Office was waiting for an insurance adjuster to determine the extent of the damage to the patrol vehicle.
He also said the Sheriff’s Office will conduct an internal investigation of the crash.
“We will look at all kinds of things, such as the track record and individual history of the deputy and how many days in a row the deputy had been working as a few examples,” Bissell said.