A CHP officer making a traffic safety stop on the shoulder of Highway 101 was forced to jump into a car's backseat to avoid injury as another vehicle drove into it, according to CHP Sgt. Danny Koetsier.
The accident occurred around 12:30 p.m. Sunday. An officer parked her CHP vehicle behind a silver car on the southbound shoulder of Highway 101 in Nipomo, just south of the Tefft Street on-ramp.
The officer was checking the silver car's child seat when she looked up to see a white minivan driving toward her on the shoulder.
The officer was able to jump into the back seat of the car as the minivan hit the back of the CHP vehicle, then jerked back to broadside the silver car with the officer and other occupants inside.
Several occupants of the silver car sustained minor injuries, including the officer.
The driver of the minivan sustained no injuries.
Police attribute the collision to an unsafe turning movement by the driver of the minivan, and no arrest was made.
Around 1:20 p.m., a separate accident occurred nearby on the other side of the freeway.
The combined accidents created significant traffic congestion, which was clearing by 3:30 p.m, Koetsier said.
Copyright 2013 - The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, Calif.)
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
