Thankfully all three parties involved escaped this crash without serious injury
January 26, 2024 at 17:32
As an Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) officer was concluding a traffic stop involving an SUV, another driver collided with both vehicles. The impact was so powerful that it sent Trooper Jesse Gregory flying out of the dashcam‘s view. Remarkably, all individuals involved in the incident escaped without sustaining serious injuries.
The highway is a dangerous place and sitting on the side of the highway isn’t necessarily safer. As a result, the NHTSA has employed campaigns in the past reminding drivers to slow down and move over when they see emergency vehicles on the shoulder. Despite that, crashes due to distracted driving are still a problem and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol used this latest incident as a graphic reminder.
Caution: The following video may be unsettling for some viewers
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In the video we see Trooper Gregory approaching the passenger side of the white SUV in question. There, he speaks to the occupants through the window and then it happens. A black SUV slams into the rear driver’s side of the SUV launching Gregory into the adjacent field and shoving the SUV many car-lengths down the road.
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Gregory actually manages to compose himself and call in EMS before the video concludes. His life was likely saved simply by not being on the driver’s side of the pulled-over SUV during the stop. It’s unclear what caused the accident but according to the OHP, investigators are still working on determining that.
Sadly, this isn’t the first time that the OHP itself has dealt with this sort of situation. It’s currently in the midst of what it calls a “distracted driving emphasis” in honor of another Trooper who died in a similar accident. In fact, Gregory was on the scene of a third incident earlier this month when a driver hit a stopped car while a police officer was talking to the driver.
In that case, the involved parties all managed to escape with their lives. All three episodes are excellent reminders to indeed slow down and move over, but also to pay more attention while driving.