Chris Proffitt/Eyewitness News
Blackford County - An Indiana police officer was in serious condition Friday after investigators say a driver hit him while under the influence.
Veteran Montpelier Police Officer Kevin Smith was helping a driver early Friday morning who had slid off State Road 3 when he was struck by an SUV driven by 50-year-old Jeffery Mills of Hartford City. State police say that Mills was impaired when he ran into the officer.
"We have an officer in the hospital in very bad condition. With what's happening around the nation, it's unsettling. It really is," said Asst. Chief Chris Snyder, Montpelier Police Department.
Smith is the latest police officer injured in a rash of shootings and accidents nationwide that have killed several officers.
Investigators from Indiana State Police say the 47-year-old is in serious condition in a Fort Wayne hospital with non-life-threatening internal injuries.
Mills was arrested for DUI under a controlled substance. Police say they found marijuana in his car.
A tow truck called to the scene also had to pull the officer's car out of the snow when it became stuck. State Police say that instead of driving around the truck, Mills drove into it and then struck the police officer who was trying to get out of the way.
The five-member Montpelier Police force call the circumstances around the incident unsettling since officers say they work hard to keep impaired drivers off the road.
"We are prepared for the worst if something happens but we're also optimistic and hopeful," said Snyder.
Mills was arrested and charged with the following:
•OWI under a controlled substance
•Possession of marijuana
•Possession of a controlled substance
•Possession of paraphernalia
