A U.S. Marshal took a U-turn to help at a Northern California crash. His car was then rear-ended

A U.S. Marshal was injured in a rear-end collision Thursday morning after he made a U-turn to assist motorists involved in a crash on Highway 70 in Sutter County.

California Highway Patrol received calls starting at 7 a.m. of a two-vehicle crash on Highway 70 south of Nicolaus Avenue. The driver of a white SUV fell asleep at the wheel in a northbound lane when the vehicle hit the back end of a semi-truck without a trailer, according to Officer Brian Danielson, a spokesman for the CHP’s Yuba-Sutter office.

A U.S. Marshal task force agent was driving in slow traffic on the opposite side when he saw the crash and made a U-turn through an opening in the center divide. His vehicle was then rear-ended by a white sedan after that driver did not notice the slow down, Danielson said.

The second crash was overheard by a dispatcher on a call reporting the first collision at 7:05 a.m., according to Danielson.

The driver involved in the first crash was transported to a hospital, Danielson said, and the marshal and driver of the second crash suffered minor injuries.