Two Virginia police officers narrowly avoided being hit by an out-of-control vehicle on Sunday while investigating an accident on U.S. Highway 23, and the close encounter was caught on police dashcam.
According to video and a press release from the Gate City Police Department, officers Jessica McGraw and Matthew Stewart were investigating the scene of an accident on the side of the highway when another car lost control, crossed the median and barreled into a parked patrol car.
Dashcam footage of the incident shows Stewart pull McGraw out of the way of the oncoming vehicle just seconds before it slams into the police car.
“The impact of the passenger vehicle rapidly forced the patrol vehicle off the shoulder of the road towards the conversing officers. Officer Stewart caught a glimpse of the vehicle coming towards them and was able to react within a moment’s notice to grab McGraw and pull her out of the path of the spinning patrol car,” Chief Justin C. Miller wrote on Facebook.
Officer Stewart immediately checked on the driver while Officer McGraw contacted Scott County Central Dispatch to call for rescue and fire units.
“It is my belief the quick actions of Officer Stewart not only saved himself from serious bodily injury or death but also that of Officer McGraw,” Miller continued.
The only minor injury that occurred was reported by Officer Stewart, who said his leg “went numb like I had a bad charley horse.” Upon closer inspection of the footage, it was determined that the patrol car touched Stewart’s leg while he was pushing McGraw out of harm’s way.
Following an investigation, the driver involved in the crash was issued a citation for failure to maintain proper control of their vehicle.
Elsewhere in law enforcement, voluntary resignations among officers jumped 24 percent across 10 departments in major U.S. cities over the last year, according to a new study obtained by Fox News on Thursday.
When compared to the same period a year earlier, the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund (LELDF) study found overall voluntary police departures between June 1, 2020 and April 30, 2021 increased by 18 percent. Overall voluntary resignations also increased by 24 percent and overall voluntary retirements increased by 14 percent.
The period that LELDF analyzed represents police activity before and after the death of George Floyd at the hands of then-Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin, which spurred nationwide riots and activists’ demanding authorities “Defund the Police.”
