A Maryland State Police trooper was injured after his patrol car was rear ended while he helped someone on the side of I-95 Thursday afternoon in Howard County.
Around 1:30 p.m. the trooper, identified as 27-year-old Tristen Phillip, was dispatched to help a family who was having car trouble on the side of southbound Interstate 95 north of Route 100, according to state police.
He'd been at the scene for about an hour and was inside his marked car on the right shoulder when another driver, identified as 31-year-old Rodney Irons Jr. of Silver Spring, hit the trooper's car with his Dodge Stratus, according to state police.
The impact started a chain reaction, pushing Phillip's patrol car into the family's disabled vehicle, police said.
The family, identified as 72-year-old Ellen Pell and 73-year-old Melvin Pell of Wilmington, Del., declined treatment at the scene.
Irons was taken to Howard County General Hospital and Phillip was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore for treatment.
Police learned Irons was driving without a license and charges are pending.
Two lanes on I-95 were closed to southbound traffic following the accident, according to Maryland State Highways.
ALERT-Howard County - Crash closing two lanes on SB I-95 prior to MD 100. https://t.co/1LoRbYVbNG #mdtraffic cg
— MD State Highway Adm (@MDSHA) December 31, 2015
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