Commercial Vehicle Collides Into Police Car

On May 18, 2013, at approximately 11:35 a.m. a marked Ocean City Police vehicle with two officers was travelling southbound and was stopped in stop and go traffic at 84th Street.

A commercial vehicle described as a “Bethany Resort Furnishing” box truck failed to stop causing the box truck to strike the marked police car.  This caused a chain reaction involving four vehicles total. 

 The two officers inside the police vehicle, who are not being identified at this time, were treated at the scene by Ocean City EMS and transported to Atlantic General Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.  Both officers were later released from the hospital, however will not return to duty for several days.  The police vehicle involved sustained a significant amount of damage and has been taken out of service.

The operator of the at-fault commercial vehicle has been identified as John Clifton Truitt, 33, of Salisbury, MD and was charged with:

• Failing to control speed to avoid a collision
• Negligent driving
• Failing to have valid medical certificate (Commercial Driver Code Violation)

The other three vehicles involved were not significantly damaged and could be driven from the scene. No other injuries were reported as a result of the incident.