CHP Officer Hit by Car on Highway 101 in Marin

MILL VALLEY, CA- A California Highway Patrol officer was briefly hospitalized Wednesday after he was struck in his patrol vehicle by a speeding Mini Cooper, officials reported Thursday.

According to CHP Officer Andrew Barclay, the incident happened around 10 a.m. on the southbound side of US-101 near the Seminary Drive off ramp in Mill Valley.

“The officer traveling in the #1 lane (fast lane) and was conducting a bumper pace of a vehicle next to his patrol vehicle when he was suddenly struck from behind by a high speed vehicle, later identified as a Mini Cooper,” Barclay said in a news release.

While the CHP vehicle was moderately damaged and able to be driven to the side of the road, the Mini Cooper spun across all the lanes “... finally coming to rest facing the wrong way on the right shoulder,” Barclay said.

The driver of the Mini Cooper, identified as 52-year-old Mary Hall of San Francisco, was treated at the scene and declined medical transport, Barclay said. The CHP officer, a 19 year veteran of the department, was taken to an area hospital with minor injuries and later released.

“Hall stated she had not seen the officer traveling in the lane in front of her and may have fallen asleep prior to the collision,” Barclay said “Witnesses who contacted the CHP stated they had observed the Mini Cooper traveling at high rates of speed prior to the collision.”

Alcohol and drugs have been ruled out as possible factors in the crash, he said.