There were two wrecks on Illinois 3 on Christmas Eve, one involving a police cruiser

There were two car accidents on Illinois 3 within half an hour of each other on Christmas Eve, including one involving a Columbia police cruiser.

Monroe County Sheriff Neal Rohlfing said a car with two juveniles hit the back of an on-duty police officer’s car around 6:30 p.m. on Illinois 3 in Columbia.

The names of the juveniles were not released. They were transported to a St. Louis hospital by Columbia EMS with minor injuries, according to Rohlfing.

There was minor damage to the officer’s car.

About 30 minutes later, the sheriff’s department responded to a three-car accident on Illinois 3 at FF Road, which is near Columbia.

Rohlfing said one driver hit a deer, and there was a rear-end collision when traffic slowed down.

The drivers in that accident were Bernadine Hoff, Caitlyn Drolet and Keith Woodcock, according to Rohlfing. Hoff was transported to a St. Louis hospital by Monroe County EMS with minor injuries.

This story was originally published December 26, 2018 at 12:51 PM.