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Lake Mary officer uses patrol car to stop runaway truck
A Lake Mary police sergeant deliberately drove his patrol car into the path of a pickup truck after its driver lost consciousness behind the wheel, preventing the vehicle from entering oncoming traffic and potentially avoiding a more serious crash.
LAKE MARY, Fla. - A Lake Mary police sergeant deliberately drove his patrol car into the path of a pickup truck after its driver lost consciousness behind the wheel, preventing the vehicle from entering oncoming traffic and potentially avoiding a more serious crash.
The incident happened around 8:15 a.m. Sunday at the intersection of Rinehart Road and Lake Mary Boulevard.
Officer realizes driver is unconscious
What they're saying:
Sgt. Robert Fugate said he first noticed the white pickup rolling into the intersection as drivers sounded their horns.
"I observed a white truck start entering out into the intersection, and at first I was like, 'Oh, are we being that impatient on a Sunday morning? You know, what's going on?'" Fugate said.
Fugate activated his emergency lights and siren in an attempt to get the driver's attention. As the truck continued moving, he realized the driver was slumped over the steering wheel.
"I realized that she was limp or slumped behind the wheel and wasn't... wasn't conscious, you know, from what I... from what I could see," Fugate said.
The truck was traveling about 15 mph toward oncoming traffic, leaving the officer only seconds to respond.
Patrol car used to stop truck
Fugate positioned his patrol vehicle at an angle in front of the truck, intentionally absorbing the impact to keep it from striking other vehicles.
"I moved forward and I angled my car so that I would take the impact to avoid her harming herself or anybody else, was... was my train of thought," he said.
A witness captured the collision on video as the patrol car blocked the truck before it could enter traffic.
Driver suffered medical emergency
First responders determined the driver had suffered a medical emergency.
Although many have praised Fugate's actions as heroic, he said he was simply doing his job.
"I just reacted to what was presented in front of me and, you know, did what I felt was best to help preserve her life or somebody else's life and just protect people from, you know, being in any further danger from it," Fugate said.
No one, including the officer and the driver, suffered serious injuries.
The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Lake Mary Police Department and from an interview with Sgt. Robert Fugate.