California Highway Patrol officer badly hurt when his SUV hits truck entering Highway 41

An on-duty California Highway Patrol officer was injured in a crash Saturday evening in Madera County.

CHP Sgt. Tim Ray said the collision happened at 6:30 p.m. when a CHP officer was traveling southbound on Highway 41, just north of Road 415 near Coaresgold in his marked SUV when a pickup driver backing out of a driveway didn’t see the officer approaching.

Ray said the officer applied the brakes but was unable to avoid colliding with the Ford F150.

The officer was taken to a local hospital with major injuries. the other driver had a complaint of pain.

Alcohol and drugs don’t appear to be a factor, Ray said.