MINNESOTA TROOPER: I AM LUCKY TO BE ALIVE
State Trooper Gregg Gerhartz sees his squad car and knows he's lucky. "It's just hard to believe I'm still here talking," Gerhartz said Thursday.
Gerhartz was on a routine traffic stop last week, standing outside a car on Interstate 94 near Sauk Centre. Suddenly, he heard a noise, then turned to see a semi truck coming at him. "I was waiting to be dragged under that semi, to be honest with you," Gerhartz said. "That's what I thought was going to happen."
Instead, the semi swerved, its tire striking Gerhartz's leg. The impact broke off the car's mirror, and the semi's trailer smashed his squad car. Today, a steel rod supports Gerhart'z broken femur, leaving him in a wheelchair and in disbelief.
"I don't imagine this truck driver will ever forget this, as I never will," Gerhartz said. Neither will other troopers, who say many drivers are inattentive, tired or unwilling to change lanes, not realizing how dangerous their jobs can be.
"You're on the side of the road and the cars are going by inches and feet away," Capt. Al Kutz of the Minnesota State Patrol said. "And you realize the speed and power that's coming."
One reason for Minnesota's Move Over Law, which requires drivers to be at least one lane away from stopped emergency vehicles. Drivers can be cited and fined for breaking it, but Gerhartz says he's proof there could be far worse results.
"You take somebody's life, and you're going to live with that for the rest of your life," Gerhartz said.
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