GERMANTOWN, Wis. (WTAQ) - A suburban Milwaukee truck driver has been ticketed for side-swiping a Germantown police vehicle during last Tuesday’s snowstorm. The State Patrol cited 27-year-old Jeffrey Bayer of New Berlin for driving too fast for conditions – and for not moving to the left lane of the freeway to avoid a crash scene where the police vehicle had stopped. Authorities said Bayer’s semi-truck side-swiped the police SUV on the Highway 41-45 freeway near the Lannon Road exit. An officer was inside the SUV, and was taken to a Menomonee Falls hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Germantown Police Chief Peter Hoell said he was most concerned that Bayer did not observe the move over law – which the Legislature passed a couple years ago after a number of officers were killed or injured by passing vehicles while investigating freeway crashes. Hoell said somebody could have easily lost a life last week. A second squad car was hit while responding to the first mishap. Officials say Bauer faces total fines of just over $475 and a total of 7 demerit points off his driver’s license.