On Dec. 14, two police cars from two different departments in Morgan County were involved in a crash on State Road 135 North in Brown County.
The crash was reported just before 2:30 p.m. in the 7900 block near Hurdle Road, according to an accident report by Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Stargell.
One police vehicle was registered to the Town of Paragon and the other was registered to the Town of Morgantown, he wrote. The Paragon police car — driven by John McCallister IV, 28, of Martinsville — was facing south in the middle of the road and the Morgantown police car — driven by Ryan Swank, 31, of Martinsville — was north in a ditch on the east side of the road.
Swank told police he was driving south and was turning into a driveway after Hurdle Road to serve an arrest warrant when he was hit in the rear by McCallister’s vehicle.
McCallister was following Swank. When Swank’s vehicle started slowing, he hit his brakes, but began sliding on the wet pavement. Stargell noted that 135 North was “very slick at the time due to the chip and seal coating.”
McCallister was treated at the scene for a laceration above his eye. McCallister’s front-seat passenger, John Bise, 27, of Martinsville, also had a large contusion and abrasion on his forehead from the airbag deployment and hitting the laptop in the vehicle, the report states.
Swank was reportedly not injured, but his front-seat passenger, William Walls IV, 22, of Martinsville, had neck pain.
Brown County (Nashville) and Hamblen Township volunteer fire departments assisted at the scene along with EMS.
Both vehicles were towed. Everyone was wearing their seat belts.
