A Mission police officer has been released from the hospital after her patrol vehicle was hit by a suspected drunk driver early Sunday morning.
According to online call logs, Mission Police initiated a traffic stop on southbound Interstate 35 north of Johnson Drive in Merriam at 2:22 a.m.
At approximately 2:45 a.m., the driver of a Volkswagen hatchback crashed into the driver’s side doors of the parked Mission Police vehicle.
One officer was inside the vehicle when it was hit.
Johnson County Med-Act paramedics and Overland Park firefighters responded to check for injuries.
The police officer, only identified as a woman in her 30s, was taken by ambulance to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The other driver, only identified as a woman, was not injured.
Later Sunday morning, Merriam Police Capt. Jeremiah Waters told the Post that Merriam officers investigated the crash and arrested the driver of the vehicle that struck the police car on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Mission Police Chief Dan Madden told the Post that the officer had been released from the hospital.
“Our officer is doing OK and is home resting,” Madden said.
Officers from multiple agencies, including Merriam, Overland Park and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, also responded to the report of a police vehicle being hit on the highway.
Two right lanes of southbound I-35 were closed between Antioch Road and Johnson Drive as officers investigated the crash.
All lanes reopened before 4 a.m. Sunday.
