Park Police Officer Hit During Traffic Stop

Three people, including a U.S. Park Police officer, were injured Tuesday morning after a truck veered off the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and struck a police car that had pulled over another car in a traffic stop, authorities said.

The officer was dragged nearly 40 feet under his own cruiser after a pickup collided with the police vehicle on the right shoulder of the road, authorities said. It was unclear if the officer was talking to the woman in the stopped vehicle or walking back to his car at the time of the crash, just before 8 a.m., police said.

The woman's car, a white station wagon, was also struck.

The accident occurred on the southbound side of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway about a half-mile south of Route 197, authorities said. The road was reopened in both directions as of 10:30 a.m.

The officer and the drivers suffered injuries not considered to be life-threatening.

Police did not identify any of the people involved. They said it was unclear why the truck left the roadway or whether the driver would be charged with any crime.