The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said a deputy was struck by a motorcyclist while doing traffic control Thursday morning in southern Palm Beach County.
The incident occurred at Kimberly Boulevard and State Road 7 in suburban Boca Raton around 8:30 a.m.
State Road 7 between Glades and Yamato roads was closed for a time but has since reopened.
PBSO said both Deputy Thomas Hannigan and motorcyclist Hector Mauricio Mazariegos were taken to local hospitals. Hannigan is stil hospitalized with serious injuries. The motorcyclist, Mazariegos, only suffered minor injuries.
According to PBSO, deputy Hannigan was working traffic enforcement and obtained a speed reading of 97 mph on the motorcyclist in a 45 mph zone.
They say Hannigan stepped into the center lane and waved for the driver to pull over.
According to witnesses, the deputy had been in the roadway for more than enough time for the rider to see him and stop. The deputy was wearing a neon green reflective vest at the time.
PBSO says the rider slowed and tried to drive around the deputy, but at the same time the deputy feared the rider was going to run him over and moved slightly to his right.
Mazariegos impacted with the deputy, then made a heavy brake application (which left a long skid mark) and overturned.
Mazariegos was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail for Reckless Driving resulting in serious bodily injury, No Driver's License causing serious bodily injury, driving without a motorcycle endorsement, driving an unregistered vehicle, and attaching an unassigned tag to a vehicle.
NOW: @PBCountySheriff deputy hit by motorcyclist at SR7 and Kimberly Blvd in West Boca @WPTV pic.twitter.com/ZsQeGoiXKD
— Charlie Keegan (@CKeeganWPTV) June 30, 2016
