MICHIGAN TROOPER TALKS ABIUT BEING STRUCK
"The first thought in my mind is I'm never going to see my kids again. The second thought was I'm going to be crushed between the car and the truck."
Michigan State Trooper Scott Wilber says he's surprised he lived to talk about the traffic stop he made Saturday night.
A driver hit an abandoned truck on westbound I-96 just before the Fruitridge exit. "I'm getting ready to write the report and I see the Jeep Liberty pull up behind me." A good samaritan who called in the crash stopped right behind Trooper Wilber's vehicle. “The only reason I got out of the car was to tell the guy behind me you're blocking my lights."
As Wilber stepped out, he saw a truck headed his way. "I had just put my hat on and I heard that unmistakable skidding tires and as I looked up all I could see was the Dodge emblem of the pick-up truck." The dash camera recorded the accident. WZZM 13 brought the video to the trooper's home and he explained what happened as he watched it for the first time.
"I felt something hit me in the small of my back and I remember my hands were up and I couldn't get my balance, I knew I was moving but I wasn't doing anything to move." The short recording shows the Trooper sliding past his vehicle as the fast moving Dodge Pick-up pulls over.
"I remember the metal crushing the impact," said Wilber. The truck smacked into the rear of the cruiser first and it's believed the tail light was damaged as Wilber's body was thrown. "You need to move over when there's an emergency vehicle on the side of the road, that would have been a better choice," said Lt. Steven Harper of the MSP Rockford Post.
Though Wilber has no ill will towards either of the drivers he hopes all drivers can learn an important lesson. "Maybe people will watch the video and realize its serious business out there." Michigan State Police are investigating the accident. They are not sure if any charges will be filed. They do want to remind drivers not to park behind any law enforcement cruiser with emergency lights. It is also state law to slow down when you see cruiser lights on the interstate and move over one lane.
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