A Massachusetts State Police trooper was seriously hurt in a hit-and-run crash on the Mass Pike early Tuesday morning. The driver is being held on $500,000 bail.

Police said the trooper had pulled over a truck for a traffic violation on the westbound side of I-90, near exit 51 in Chicopee, around 2:20 a.m. That's when investigators said a driver, later identified as 32-year-old Naisha Rodriguez of Springfield, hit the trooper and drove away.

"State Police personnel assigned to Troop B and Fire Officials responded immediately to the scene, closed all westbound lanes, and facilitated transport for the injured Trooper," State Police spokesman Tim McGuirk said in a statement.

The trooper has not been identified, but was in stable condition Wednesday. Colonel Geoffrey Noble, the head of the Massachusetts State Police, visited him at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

"I'm very happy to report that although seriously injured, his spirits are good," Noble told reporters Tuesday.

Rodriguez was arrested at her home Tuesday afternoon. She's charged with operating under the influence causing serious bodily injury, misleading a police investigation, and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash causing personal injury. She pleaded not guilty to the charges at her arraignment in Chicopee District Court Wednesday morning. She's due back in court July 10.

Noble said the trooper has been with State Police for less than a year, but he's a "seasoned police officer" who's been in law enforcement for more than a decade. He said the trooper is eager to get back to work, but "he's in for a long recovery."

The trooper had worked a detail earlier in the night and was on the way home in his cruiser when he stopped the tractor-trailer, Noble said. 

Chicopee is about 90 miles west of Boston and about 85 miles east of Albany, New York. 

• Chicopee News
• Massachusetts State Police