State trooper has ‘close call’ on I-80

AUSTINTOWN — A close call on Interstate 80 caused major damage to the door of an Ohio State Highway Patrol vehicle, but the trooper escaped without any serious injuries.

Trooper Kenneth Robbins, 41, of Salem, pulled his vehicle to the right side of a construction zone, just east of the Meander Reservoir, at 12:08 a.m. today because a man was walking on the highway, said OSHP Sgt. Bret Henderson.

Robbins had his overhead lights flashing as he opened the door to get out and question the pedestrian, Henderson said. That’s when the rear portion of a tractor-trailer driven by Scott Metko, 39, of Menasha, Wis., hit the trooper’s door as he tried to get into the left lane, Henderson said. Robbins had minor injuries.

The patrol ticketed Metko for “failure to move to the left upon approaching a stationary public safety vehicle displaying emergency lights,” Henderson said.

The sergeant didn’t have any information about the pedestrian.