XENIA — Doctors are caring for a Greene County deputy who is in the hospital after being hit by a driver Monday morning on U.S. 35.
News Center 7’s John Bedell talked to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office about how the deputy is doing.
The sheriff’s office said the deputy was scheduled to have surgery this afternoon. To get the deputy to the hospital, he was taken by an ambulance to Miami Valley Hospital, 34 miles from where he was hit.
It started as a simple call for two Greene County deputies just before 1:30 a.m. Monday.
Capt. Sean Kessel said, “We had some deputies that were working a crash on U.S. 35.”
Kessel said a driver had hit a deer traveling west on 35. As one deputy investigated the crash, the other went to look for the injured deer in case it needed to be put down.
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That deputy worked his way through the median to the eastbound lanes.
“The deputy found some debris in the roadway, again pulled it off, and unfortunately, he was struck by another oncoming motorist who was traveling eastbound,” Kessel said.
The crash happened about 35 miles from the 35-split back in Xenia near the Fayette County line.
“I will say that section of the roadway is poorly lit,” Kessel said. He also said the deputy had a flashlight to warn the driver that he was there, but the driver hit him.
The speed limit along that stretch of U.S. 35 is 70 mph. The deputy saw the car coming and was able to move out of the way so he was not hit head-on.
He was scheduled for surgery Monday afternoon for two broken legs.
The sheriff’s office is not naming the deputy right now. “He’s a 28-year vet, mostly a night shift guy, hard worker, family man,” Kessel said.
The department is grateful, even with a long recovery road ahead, and that he is going to be alright.
“Yep, just a lot of support from the community, command staff, other agencies, our law enforcement partners here in Greene County have reached out as well,” Kessel said.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. They said the driver who hit the deputy is a 28-year-old woman from Fayetteville, North Carolina.
She stopped at the scene after the impact and was not injured.
Troopers said they do not suspect any impairment, and so far, she has not been charged or cited, but their investigation continues.
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