Four Massachusetts State Troopers injured by suspected drunk driver

At 12:56 a.m. today a suspected drunk driver struck two Massachusetts State Police cruisers that were stationary during a motor vehicle stop on Route 27 at Westgate Drive in Brockton.

The impaired driver’s vehicle, which was traveling north on Route 27, struck the rear of one cruiser, and pushed that cruiser into the rear of the second cruiser that was ahead of it. The impact then pushed the second cruiser into the 2011 Subaru Forester that had been stopped by the Troopers.

At the time of the crash the Subaru that had been stopped was in the breakdown lane. Both fully marked cruisers, positioned to protect the Subaru, were in the right lane with their overhead blue emergency lights flashing.

Each cruiser — one a 2013 Ford Interceptor utility vehicle and the other a 2015 Interceptor — carried two Troopers, a Field Training Officer and a new Trooper from the MSP recruit class that graduated on June 27.

All four Troopers, all males, were transported by ambulances to Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton for non-life threatening injuries of varying severity. They were treated and released this morning.

The operator of the 2013 Hyundai Genesis sedan that struck the cruisers, Frandy Jose Ramirez Rodriguez (a male), 26, of Brockton, was determined to be under the influence of alcohol and operating after a previous license suspension. Ramirez Rodriguez was taken into custody by Troopers and charged with the following offenses:

– OUI Liquor;

– Operating a Motor Vehicle After License Suspension;

– Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle;

– Operating an Uninsured Motor Vehicle;

– Marked Lanes Violation; and

– Failure to Take Care in Starting, Stopping, or Turning.

The 29-year-old male operator of the Subaru — the driver who was stopped by the Troopers — was also transported to Good Samaritan for possible minor injuries. He is also a Brockton resident.

Ramirez Rodriguez is expected to be arraigned today in Brockton District Court.