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Omaha Police officer hit by car while responding to crash; sustains serious injuries

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OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Omaha Police say one of their own is recovering in the hospital after being hit by a car while responding to a crash Thursday evening.

At 6:17 p.m., officers responded to an accident on Hwy 75 NB at the I-80 interchange.

While helping with lane closures, Officer Michael Salseda parked his cruiser in a lane with emergency overhead lights and the directional bar activated.

Ofc. Salseda, who was wearing a high visibility traffic vest, left his vehicle to start putting out flares when he was struck by a vehicle, according to police.

Investigation indicates the vehicle that hit Ofc. Salseda was traveling northbound in the same lane the officer’s vehicle was parked in and was unable to stop behind the cruiser.

The driver, identified as 29-year-old Christopher Guy, told police he tried moving to the right but there were cars in the way, so he veered to the left onto the shoulder to avoid hitting the cruiser.

At that point, Guy’s vehicle struck Ofc. Salseda who was still standing on the shoulder, police say.

Ofc. Salseda was transported to UNMC with very serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Guy showed signs of impairment and was transported to Central Station where a DUI investigation was conducted.

Authorities say Guy had a .305 BAC. He was booked for DUI (serious bodily injury) at Douglas County Corrections.

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