2 injured after UTV crash into cruiser in Pike County

DORTON, Ky. – Two men were injured after authorities say a man crashed a utility-task vehicle into a trooper’s cruiser in Pike County.

According to the Kentucky State Police, its Critical Incident Response Team was requested to investigate a collision at the intersection of U.S. 23 and Dorton Hill Road in the Dorton community on Aug. 22.

Authorities say a preliminary investigation shows Trooper Mitchell Culbertson and Cameron Whitaker were in the Dorton community, where they parked their cruisers in the median of U.S. 23 to conduct highway safety enforcement.

Around 1:20 a.m., troopers say a UTV collided with the back of Culbertson’s cruiser.

Authorities say Culbertson sustained a laceration to the back of his head, and the UTV operator, 28-year-old James Honaker of Virginia, sustained severe injuries. Both were transported to Pikeville Medical Center.

Culbertson has since been released from the hospital. Honaker remains hospitalized in serious condition, troopers say.

The investigation remains ongoing.