UHP released dashcam footage of trooper deliberately striking a wrong-way driver with his patrol car
By: Utah Highway Patrol has released dashcam footage of a trooper deliberately striking a wrong-way driver with his patrol car in an attempt to stop him.
The incident happened on Tuesday, April 18 when a pickup truck pulling a U-Haul was traveling the wrong way on the westbound lanes of I-80 at about 3 p.m. A UHP sergeant was also heading westbound, unaware of the oncoming truck. Once he saw it, he turned on his emergency lights and siren, slowed down and put himself in the path of the oncoming truck.
The trooper’s patrol car and truck collided head-on. UHP Sgt. Cameron Roden confirmed with ABC4 at the time of the accident, another pick-up truck crashed into the back of the patrol vehicle as well.
In the video, which has no sound, a truck in front of the patrol car can be seen moving out of the way wrong-way driver. The oncoming truck had a headlight out and hazard lights turned on before it struck the patrol car and careened into the middle of I-80. The patrol car was turned around in the collision.
The three-lane highway had a number of cars traveling on it at the time of the accident, but only three vehicles were involved. The video ends with witnesses jumping out of their cars to help the trooper and impacted drivers.
The UHP trooper was not injured in the crash but was taken to a local hospital as a precaution. The wrong-way drive driver suffered only minor injuries. No other injuries had been reported from the crash.