PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. - A Maryland State Trooper was injured in a traffic collision this morning while responding to assist motorists involved in a crash on Maryland Route 2/4 in Calvert County, Maryland.
Trooper Joseph Chirichella, 22, assigned to the Prince Frederick Barrack in Calvert County, suffered head and neck injuries after the patrol vehicle he was driving collided with another vehicle that pulled directly into his path. Trooper Chirichella was flown by State Police helicopter, 'Trooper 7', to the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore with injuries deemed serious at the time of the crash.
The driver of the 2004 Chevrolet Avalanche, Jennifer Savage, 33, of the 1400 block of Foxtail Lane, Prince Frederick, and the two children, 18 months and 5 years old were transported to the Calvert Memorial Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.
Shortly before 8:30 a.m., Friday morning, Trooper Chirichella was dispatched to the scene of a serious personal injury crash near the Calvert Memorial Hospital. He was traveling north bound on Maryland Route 2/4 with the overhead lights and siren activated. Police say that as Chirichella reached Steeple Chase Drive, Savage pulled directly in front of the trooper's marked patrol vehicle.
Trooper Chirichella's condition has been upgraded and he is expected to recover from his injuries. The Maryland State Police CRASH Team responded to assist with the investigation.