WETHERSFIELD — A State Trooper was struck by an alleged drunk driver crashed through a Hartford construction zone Thursday night.
The crash happened at around 11:15 p.m. at the Route 3/I-91 interchange, on the Putnam Bridge where Glastonbury and Wethersfield meet.
Police said a construction truck that warns traffic of an upcoming construction zone and is used to protect work crews was parked in the left lane of Route 3 South, behind a State Police cruiser. Trooper Patrick Dwyer was sitting in driver's seat of the cruiser at time of crash.
Michael Gauvin, 43, of East Hartford, was driving a Jeep Wrangler that side-swiped the construction truck in the left lane, then lost control and hit a concrete barrier in the center median. The Jeep rode the barrier and partially came down on top of the cruiser.
Gauvin and Taylor were taken to Hartford Hospital, both with non-life threatening injuries. The construction worker inside the truck, Daniel S. Smith of Manchester, was not hurt.
The driver of the Jeep was arrested and charged with driving under the influence in a construction zone, failure to maintain a proper lane in a construction zone, and failure to slow down and move over for emergency vehicles . He admittedly consumed alcohol prior to the crash, according to state police.
He is scheduled to appear in Manchester Superior Court on Monday, November 21.
This is the third day in a row that there have been vehicles struck in construction zones, according to state police.
