TROY, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire police chief was being treated for injuries after he was struck by a car that lost control on snow and then pinned him between it and his police cruiser while he was investigating another crash, police said.
State police say Troy Police Chief Howard Sheats was taken by a police cruiser to Cheshire Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries.
Police say Sheats likely would have suffered more serious injuries if an alert motorist who saw the car sliding towards him had not blown a car horn to alert him.
Sheats was standing beside his cruiser — a Ford Explorer — when he heard the car horn blowing and looked up. Police said he saw the Subaru station wagon bearing down on him. He had almost reached the rear of his cruiser when the station wagon struck him, pinning him briefly before he fell to the ground.
The driver of the Subaru — 29-year-old Seth Chapman of Troy — was not injured. Speed and Thursday's snowstorm contributed to the accident, police said.
"It is unknown how severe the collision would have been if it wasn't for the alert motorist," said State Police Sgt. Joseph DiRusso.
Police hope to identify that motorist so they can thank him or her.
Troy is a town of about 1,200 people located at the base of Mount Monadnock.