A Tuesday morning accident sent two people to the hospital, including an Omaha Police officer.
Omaha Police officials say just before 9:00 an OPD K9 unit requested backup during a traffic stop on westbound I-80 near Q Street.
When officer Brian Vanderheiden arrived, he parked his cruiser on the outside shoulder of the interstate near the K9 vehicle.
Just before 9:15 the officers reported being struck by a vehicle and that Officer Vanderheiden was injured.
Investigators determined a Ford Taurus was westbound when it collided with a Chevy cargo van. The van then hit Vanderheiden's cruiser, forcing it off the road, before hitting the K9 unit vehicle.
Witnesses say traffic had slowed down and the van was attempting to move over to allow room for the police cruisers when it was hit by the Taurus, causing the chain reaction of collisions.
The accident forced westbound I-80 traffic to be diverted and closed a portion of the interstate for about an hour and a half.
Both Officer Vanderheiden and the driver of the van were transported to Nebraska Medicine with serious, but non-life threatening injuries.
At this time, the crash is still under investigation.
(Photo courtesy of the Omaha Police Department)