NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The trooper from New Smyrna Beach who was struck by a passing motorist while dealing with a stopped vehicle on I-4 in DeBary on Thursday, is expected to be confined to a wheelchair for at least three months, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
Trooper Rickie Zigler is recovering at Halifax Medical Center from surgery Friday on his broken pelvis and surgery the day of the accident for a broken wrist, said FHP spokeswoman Kim Miller.
Zigler had pulled over the Jeep just after 5 p.m. Thursday on the grassy shoulder in DeBary after an alert was put out for the vehicle. The driver, Luz Roman, 41, of Jacksonville, had called 9-1-1 on her cell phon to report her boyfriend had been following her after they had an argument.
The trooper was standing on the passenger side, getting a statement from her when a 78-year-old Orlando motorist lost control of her vehicle and struck the Jeep, which in turn, struck the trooper.
Roman was transported to Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford for minor injuries.
The Orlando motorist, Donalo White, had to be extricated from her car and flown by helicopter to Orlando Regional Medical Center here she was reported in critical condition.
She had been driving in the middle lane and was not in violation of the "move over" law that requires motorists to move one lane away from a stopped law enforcement or emergency vehicle with activated lights. FHP's Miller said. But it is unknown what prompted her to suddenly switch lanes and veer into the Jeep, Miller added.