Police in Virginia have released dramatic video showing the moment an officer came extremely close to being struck by a car of "high-school aged teenagers" traveling "well over 120 mph" while he was making a traffic stop.
The incident happened Monday along Fairfax County Parkway after an officer pulled over a car that was traveling 73 mph in a 50-mph zone, according to Fairfax Deputy Police Chief Bob Blakley.
Footage showed the officer sprinting for his life after he noticed a BMW skidding out of control and crossing the center median. The vehicle then slamed into the one the officer pulled over, sending debris flying through the air while he managed to escape serious injury.
"The car involved in that collision yesterday was a whole lot of car for an inexperienced driver," Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis told reporters Tuesday. "It was going way too fast. It was a rocket, and then it became a missile."
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Immediately following the collision, the officer is seen hopping over a guardrail and radioing for help.
"My cruiser was hit. Driver was hit. I’m trying to check on injuries," he is heard telling emergency responders.
Blakley said detectives determined the speeding BMW was going "well over 120 mph when it lost control" and "undoubtedly, the driver was distracted."
"That vehicle was just incapable of handling that curve at that speed," he said.
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In a press release, Fairfax County Police said the "adult driver in the BMW 750 Series on the traffic stop was taken to the hospital with minor injuries not considered to be life-threatening and has since been released from the hospital.
"The officer sustained minor injuries. The juvenile driver of the BMW M3 and the two passengers sustained minor injuries," it also said. "The juvenile was charged with reckless driving."
Davis, before showing the video to reporters Tuesday, said, "It’s just miraculous that we are not talking under different circumstances, it really, really is."
He described the incident as a "horrific crash that by all accounts should have resulted in much, much worse outcomes than it did."
"The Fairfax County Police Department is relieved that this crash did not result in a tragedy," the department said. "This is an important reminder that life can change in an instant. It is the driver’s responsibility to drive safely and arrive safely."
Fairfax County Police also said the video is an opportunity for parents and guardians to "have a conversation with their teen drivers about how their driving behavior can affect the lives of others."
