California: Officer dives to escape being hit by passing vehicle

A California Highway Patrol officer had to jump out of the path of a driver who was distracted by a collision that had already occurred Tuesday morning on Interstate 80 in Fairfield, according to the CHP Solano office. The officer was on the right hand shoulder on westbound I-80 west of West Texas Street while clearing the scene of a previous collision.

Tow trucks with amber lights activated were on the shoulder as well, according to CHP Solano Captain Sam Dickson. As the officer was walking back to his patrol vehicle and watching traffic, he heard and saw a vehicle in the slow lane lose control and swerve directly at him, Dickson said. To avoid being hit by the vehicle, the officer dove down the embankment as the vehicle passed where he was standing.

After passing the officer, the vehicle stopped in the dirt, before colliding with a tree. The driver told officers the car had been traveling at 60-70 mph when the driver saw the collision scene on the right shoulder, Dickson said. When the driver looked forward again, traffic had stopped. The driver panicked, hit the brakes and turned to the right to avoid hitting the car ahead. Dickson reminded drivers to pay attention to the roadway and the traffic conditions ahead of them, not at crashed cars.

“Please, if you are driving and there is some type of action or incident occurring on the roadway or shoulders, pay attention to your driving and the roadway conditions ahead of your vehicle,” Dickson said in a statement. California Vehicle Code section 21809(a) requires vehicles to slow down or change lanes when approaching stationary emergency vehicles, tow trucks or Caltrans vehicles displaying amber or emergency lights.

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