Tractor Trailer Sought in Hit and Run

Nashville, Tennessee —The Tennessee Highway Patrol is looking for the driver of a tractor trailer that hit a Trooper’s vehicle late Saturday night and did not stop.

The incident happened while Trooper Charles Melhorn was conducting a traffic stop on I-75 northbound near mile marker 42 around 11:30 p.m. Trooper Melhorn had just helped a motorist secure a loose tail pipe and got back into his patrol car, when moments later a tractor trailer passed. Even though Trooper Melhorn’s car was well off the roadway, the semi hit the patrol car, ripping off the driver’s door, which was still open. The driver of the semi did not stop. Trooper Melhorn was not injured.

Investigators are looking for a Western Express truck with a white trailer and a dark-colored, possible blue or black, cab. It should have damage to its right side. Dash-cam video, which is available, shows the semi did not slow down, even though the blue lights on Trooper Melhorn’s vehicle were activated.