Woman recounts how trooper was struck Monday on icy Butler County road
For a New Castle mother stuck in a ditch along an icy Interstate 79 exit with three children in her vehicle, state police arriving on scene brought a sigh of relief.
Christy Castillo felt that relief for a second when a trooper approached her vehicle. Then, a large, black, four-door truck slid around the bend and into the trooper’s vehicle, injuring the trooper’s foot and likely saving her children from potential injury.
The family was driving home Monday, Dec. 29, from an appointment in Wexford and took exit 99 off I-79 in Muddy Creek Township to follow Route 422 home. Castillo said she was going around the bend at the exit toward the red light when her 2008 Chrysler Town and Country hit a patch of ice. She said her wheels and brakes locked, causing her to slide into a ditch just off the road.
She said another vehicle slid into the ditch right behind her and struck something solid. The sound of the impact convinced Castillo she had been hit, which was when she called 911.
“I was so scared. I was calling anyone I could to get my kids out of the car,” Castillo said.
She was in the car with her 13, 7 and 5-year-old children. The 7-year-old was in the back seat closest to the impact. Castillo said several other vehicles nearly slid into her, but when she attempted to move the vehicle, she couldn’t.
“There was no moving over,” Castillo said. “As soon as you got off that exit, you were just sliding.”
Shortly after, the state trooper, who was later struck, arrived and parked her vehicle behind Castillo’s. Castillo said the trooper approached her vehicle and also recommended she move over.
At the same time, Castillo said a large black four-door truck slid around the bend and struck the back of the state trooper’s vehicle.
Gone was the sense of relief she felt upon the trooper’s arrival. Castillo said she witnessed the crash through her side mirror.
State police had not yet released a crash report by 11:15 a.m. Tuesday, but Trooper Bertha Cazy, the public information officer for Troop D, said the trooper was taken to an area hospital shortly after 2 p.m.
The trooper reportedly sustained an injury to her foot and a tourniquet was applied at the scene. She remains at the hospital, according to Cazy on Tuesday.
Castillo said salt trucks came down the exit shortly after the crash. She said she only wished they would have arrived sooner.
Marco Silva of Sovereign Martial Arts, the children’s martial arts instructor, came to retrieve the children from the crash since no one else was available. Castillo said the studio kept in touch with her until she reached home.
Castillo was at the scene from around 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. until her car was pulled out with a cable and winch. She said the vehicle was still driveable.
Castillo said she couldn’t help but feel the state trooper was in danger because of her. She said her Chrysler would have been likely hit if the state trooper’s vehicle hadn’t been there.
“You see videos of stuff like this happening online. I never thought I’d be part of it,” Castillo said, finally breathing a sigh of relief at home on Tuesday.
