Highway patrol releases crash video

Staff report

COLUMBUS

The Ohio State Highway Patrol has released the dash-cam video of a Thursday night accident in the Columbus area to remind drivers about the dangers of impaired driving.

The video shows a vehicle driven by an impaired driver hitting an unoccupied trooper’s car on Interstate 270.

The trooper was talking with the driver of a disabled vehicle when a white pickup truck driven by Sherri L. Frank, 44, of Plain City, struck the patrol car in the left rear, then proceed into a concrete barrier.

She was charged with suspected operating a motor vehicle impaired and placed in the Franklin County Corrections Center.

The crash was less than two miles from where Trooper Frank Vazquez was killed in November 2001 by an impaired driver whose car caused an accident that struck Vazquez.

The highway patrol reminds drivers to plan ahead and designate a sober driver this New Year’s Day holiday to ensure that everyone makes it to and from their destination safely.

The highway patrol also urges drivers to dial #677 on a cellphone to report impaired drivers or drug activity.

The video can be viewed at www.statepatrol.ohio.gov.