Occurred Monday, July 30, 2012, 10:43am 4500 State Highway 286 Access northbound, Vehicle Crash C1205689

A police officer on a police motor cycle was stopped at a red light when he was struck from behind by a bus on the Cross-town Expressway access road Monday morning.

The police officer is recovering from minor injuries such as a few abrasions and a swollen ankle. The officer was off-duty having completed morning duty and was in uniform on a marked police motorcycle.

The police officer was on the access road for the Cross-town Expressway in the northbound lanes at the intersection of Gollihar and stopped for the red light. The Regional Transit Authority bus saw the light turn green and moved forward and struck the motorcycle from behind. The officer was knocked to the ground and suffered minor injuries.

No other person was harmed. The bus had two passengers on board who were not injured. The 40-year-old woman operator of the bus was cited for an Unsafe Start From A Parked Position which is a violation of the Texas Transportation Code section 545.402.

The officer was transported to the hospital by ambulance for his minor injuries and the motorcycle was towed as a result of the damages.

The Texas Department of Transportation has a motorcycle safety campaign called Share the Road in which motorists are urged to look twice for motorcyclists. Be careful when changing lanes, and at intersections which, according to the Texas Department of Transportation, are the two places where serious motorcycle collisions commonly occur.

Visit http://www.dot.state.tx.us/safety/tips/moto_campaign.htm for more information about the Texas Department of Transportation safety campaign.