Washington: Trooper hit by car for third time in 2 years: 'Move over & slow down'

A Washington State Patrol trooper is back on the job after getting hit by a car while on patrol.

Trooper Sean Carr said he was recently called to the scene of an accident in the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 in Tacoma to help with traffic control. He had his emergency lights on, flares out on the road, and an arrow board activated to urge drivers to move to the left, he said.

The driver of a car ignored those warning signs and slammed right into the back of his patrol car, Carr said. The crash happened in the early morning hours on November 14.

"I was seated, seat-belted and looking in my mirrors," Carr said. "I saw the big headlights. They seemed a lot bigger than they should have been."

"Just before it got too close, I put my head back against the headrest, dropped my hands, and waited for the collision," Carr added.

When Carr opened his eyes, his car wasn't functioning and he was in a bit of pain, he said. The car hit his patrol cruiser so hard that it pushed him off onto the right shoulder, he added.

Carr suffered whiplash and bruised his knee, but will be okay.

"Kind of a 'You gotta be kidding me.' That literally is what came across my mind," Carr said. "'Oh no, you gotta be kidding me.'"

The crash happened just a couple of weeks after the Washington State Patrol kicked off an emphasis patrol focused on the state's move-over law, which requires drivers to move over or slow down when they see emergency activity on the side of the road, Carr said.

It was the third time Carr has been hit while on patrol over the past two years. The first crash happened in January 2014 when Carr used his patrol car to stop a wrong-way driver on Interstate 5.

Each time the call to his wife gets tougher and tougher, Carr said. She's a Washington State Patrol trooper, too.

"One of the hardest phone calls I've ever had to make. Just to hear her concern and anxiety in her voice," Carr said.

"Anybody that's been unfortunate enough to break down on the side of I-5 knows very well. Cause it's very frightening to be seated in a vehicle and have other vehicles, semis, buses, large trucks, passenger cars going by you at 60 mph," Carr said. "Your vehicle physically rocks because they're only 4, 5 feet away from you going at freeway speeds. And if contact is made, the consequences can be devastating."