If taking part in police chases seems like a dangerous, er, pursuit, for patrol officers, it’s got nothing on standing still on the shoulder of a freeway attending to a stopped vehicle. We’ve seen numerous video clips of officers narrowly avoiding getting squashed by other vehicles, but this latest footage has to be the most spectacular yet.
It starts calmly enough at the side of Fairfax County Parkway in Fairfax, Virginia. We can see from the camera in the patrol officer’s car that the cop is talking to the driver of a 2012 BMW 7-Series, apparently dealing with a routine traffic stop. The officer is on the passenger side of the BMW talking through the open window, probably presuming he’s relatively safe from getting clipped by another vehicle.
The road ahead curves to the left, and around that curve heading in the opposite direction comes a black F80 BMW M3 sedan clearly traveling at serious speed. The driver is going so fast that the rear end of the BMW drifts wide and the car starts sliding backwards, first along its carriageway, then across the median, before spinning back around again just in time to crash right into the side of the 7-Series parked in front of us.
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Presumably alerted by the screech of tires, the officer looks up and spots the out-of-control M3 just before it enters the median, but he doesn’t start running back towards his cruiser until the BMW is almost onto his side of the road. When the impact arrives the 7-Series is flung into the guardrail, meaning the officer would almost certainly have been killed if he’d not moved, and it’s still a miracle that he managed to survive. Only the fact that the M3 bounced off the 7-Series, which was prevented from moving further off the road because of the guard rail, saved his life.
According to the Fairfax County PD, the driver of the 7-Series was taken to hospital but his injuries were not considered life-threatening and he has since been released. The 2018 M3 was being driven by a 17-year-old who also suffered minor injuries, as did his passenger, but that wasn’t the end of the pain for the driver. He was charged with reckless driving. The officer also walked away with only minor injuries, though we imagine the mental toll might be longer-lasting.
“We are relieved this crash did not result in a tragedy. This is an important reminder that life can change in an instant. It is the driver’s responsibility to drive safely and arrive safely,” said the Fairfax County PD in a statement. “Parents and guardians should consider using this video as an opportunity to have a conversation with their teen drivers about how their driving behavior can affect the lives of others,” it added.