A driver is facing multiple charges after rear-ending a Tennessee Highway Patrol vehicle on Interstate 65 on August 4, injuring the trooper inside and triggering renewed calls for compliance with the state’s Move Over law. 

Corina McDaniel, 40, was driving on I-65 South near Vietnam Veterans Parkway when she hit the patrol vehicle of Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Steven Burnette, 27, from behind. The impact pushed Burnette’s vehicle into another car that had already been stopped for a traffic stop. 

Burnette was taken to Skyline Medical Center and was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. McDaniel was also injured and received treatment. The driver and passenger of the other vehicle that was struck in front of the patrol car were not injured. 

 

McDaniel has been charged with DUI, vehicular assault, and simple possession. The investigation remains ongoing. 

The Tennessee Highway Patrol released bodycam and dashcam video of the crash, which was aired by WSMV 4 Nashville, serving as a reminder of the Move Over law.

Major Travis Plotzer, of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, said in a statement, “It really brings reality to the dangers we all face when we’re working, trying to serve the public. So this is something real that impacts us all—we know it’s a danger, but we still choose to be here and serve the public.”

Plotzer added, “It could be their brother or sister out here. We’re asking you to slow down and move over to give them space to work.”

Tennessee’s Move Over law requires drivers to move over and slow down when approaching emergency vehicles that are stopped with lights activated. The law applies to all emergency responders. In 2005, Trooper Todd Larkins lost his life while working a traffic stop.  

There have been three different crashes impacting law enforcement officers in just two days on Middle Tennessee highways.


On August 5, another driver struck a marked patrol vehicle at I-65 near Cool Springs Galleria in Brentwood and was also charged with DUI. About 19 hours later, a Metro police vehicle on I-24 East was hit from behind by another driver while the officer was blocking traffic for a separate accident. Neither of those crashes resulted in life-threatening injuries, though authorities expressed concern about the pattern of collisions involving law enforcement vehicles over such a short period.

Disclaimer: The Inquisitr could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the information available within the public video record.