DeLAND, Fla – A Florida Highway Patrol trooper was airlifted to a hospital after a crash on Interstate 4 early Thursday in Volusia County.
The FHP tells News 6 that Trooper Jay Spencer, 48, of DeLand, was conducting speed enforcement on the shoulder of the westbound lanes of I-4 near State Road 44 when his cruiser was rear-ended by an SUV traveling an estimated 60 mph.
Rescue crews had to cut the roof off the trooper's cruiser to get him out.
"It definitely reminds you of the danger of the job," another trooper said.
Spencer was taken to Halifax Medical Center with serious injuries.
The driver of the SUV, identified by the FHP as Ryan Thompson, 31, of Daytona Beach, was hospitalized with minor injuries.
It's not known why Thompson's SUV left the roadway, according to troopers. Charges are pending against him, the FHP said.
The crash shut down the westbound lanes of the highway, but they were later reopened.