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Troopers hurt while helping allegedly drunk driver

Two Pennsylvania State Police troopers were injured early Sunday on the Schuylkill Expressway when their cruiser was hit by a car after they had pulled over a driver police say was drunk.

Two Pennsylvania State Police troopers were injured early Sunday on the Schuylkill Expressway when their cruiser was hit by a car after they had pulled over a driver police say was drunk.

The troopers, whose identities were not released, were on patrol around 2:30 a.m. when they came across a car stopped in the highway's eastbound lanes, near Montgomery Drive.

The driver pulled over to the left side of the road when the troopers arrived, rather than to the right shoulder, said Capt. James Raykovitz, commander of Troop K, which covers Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Delaware Counties.

While the troopers, who pulled up behind the driver, were working to get him out of the way of traffic, a car slammed into theirs from behind.

"That's when the one trooper had to go over - he physically jumped over the Jersey barrier to avoid being struck," Raykovitz said. "The other trooper was accessing something . . . he was partially in his car when it was struck."

The first trooper "hopped back over after the collision to assist the trooper who sustained more severe injuries," Raykovitz said.

That trooper remained in Hahnemann University Hospital on Sunday afternoon, being treated for head injuries. He was expected to make a full recovery, Raykovitz said.

His partner was treated at Hahnemann for minor injuries, including abrasions and wrist injuries, and released.

The driver of the car that struck the troopers' vehicle was not believed to be intoxicated, but could face unspecified charges, Raykovitz said.

The first driver was to be charged with driving under the influence and related offenses, he said.