OKLAHOMA – A trooper with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol is fortunate to have survived a frightening crash as he stood at the passenger side of a vehicle during a traffic stop. During the encounter, another automobile crashed into the SUV that was pulled over, sending the trooper flying through the air.
Fortunately, Trooper Jesse Gregory walked away from the horrifying crash last month, telling “America’s Newsroom” Thursday that he remembers everything about the “scary” moment, Fox News Digital reported.
“That’s our worst fear on the side of the road, is obviously getting hit by a car,” he said. “I remember the entire thing, and honestly, as soon as it happened… I immediately knew I just got hit. And the biggest fear was, how bad?”
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol released dramatic dashcam video last week capturing the moment Gregory was communicating with the driver of his traffic stop along I-40 at Cimarron Road when another SUV plowed into them.
“This video is difficult to watch,” the law enforcement agency cautioned when sharing the footage on social media.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said all three people involved in the collision were treated and released.
“Our investigators are looking into the cause of this crash and the investigation is ongoing,” they added.
Gregory said the heart-pounding experience was the last thing he expected as his shift was coming to an end. He credited the driver he had stopped for yielding off the highway in the safest way possible, reported Fox.
“The fact he put his blinker on and we traveled all the way to the outside lane – which we love – so when I do make a passenger side approach, I’m not having to worry about traffic or watching cars. And so, in my head, I was like, boom, that’s brownie points. You know, this guy cares about my safety, his safety. You know, we’re not going to try to stop on the inside shoulder.”
OHP would like to remind motorists of the “consequences of distracted or impaired driving and the importance of the slow down move over law.”
“It’s something that happens way too frequently,” Gregory noted.
