A state trooper nearly lost his life during a traffic stop early Sunday morning on I-90 near Spokane.
The bad guy didn’t pull a gun or try to flee.
The trooper was hurt when a suspected drunken driver slammed into a patrol car parked on the freeway’s shoulder for a traffic stop, Washington State Patrol trooper Keith Leary said.
Across the country, more police are killed or hurt in traffic incidents than in attacks by criminals, officials said.
It’s not just drunken drivers police are concerned about. Anybody who’s not paying close attention to the road can veer a few feet off track and cause serious injuries, he said.
After last weekend’s crash, police are reminding people to move over, leaving emergency crews working on freeway shoulders plenty of room to do their jobs.
“We’re going out there putting our lives on the line for citizens,” Leary said. “Afford us the opportunity to do our job safely.”
Troopers try to pick the safest places to pull drivers over for traffic violations, he said.
“Even the safest spots to us are still dangerous,” the trooper said.
There often are just inches between the shoulder and fast-moving freeway traffic.
Car, trucks and motorcycles go whizzing by at speeds more than 60 mph, he said. The ground shakes and there’s often enough wind force to knock the hat off a trooper’s head.
Last year, during a traffic stop near Puyallup just after Thanksgiving, Washington State Patrol Lt. Mike Turcott’s side mirror was ripped off by a car when the driver wasn’t paying attention.
“I was just about to step out of the vehicle,” he said. “If I’d opened the door two seconds sooner, I would have lost my arm instead of my mirror.”
Leary said he was hurt in 2002 when someone crashed into his patrol car parked on the side of I-5 in Snohomish County.
“It was a scary time,” he said.
Washington law requires people to leave plenty of room for police, fire and other emergency workers.
The best thing to do when drivers see flashing lights on the side of the road is to try to move into the next lane. If that’s not possible, slow down and leave as much room as possible, Leary said.
Drivers also should watch for vehicles pulling back into traffic after they’ve been pulled over or broken down.
The best way to re-enter traffic after stopping on the shoulder is to regain highway speed on the shoulder and safely merge, Leary said.
Troopers try to use their emergency lights to help people get back into traffic, but that’s not always possible, he said.
It’s also important to remember to pull out of the way when police and firefighters are rushing to emergencies with their lights flashing and sirens blaring.
“If we can’t get to the scene, someone’s life might be in jeopardy,” he said.
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com
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