One very lucky Fairfax County police officer

May 02, 2023, 07:38 PM

Sig2340

quote:
WUSA9.com: Dashcam video captures speeding teen nearly hit officer in Fairfax crash

Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis says the car that nearly hit the officer was driven by a juvenile going over 120 miles per hour.

Author: Samantha Gilstrap, Matthew Torres
Published: 5:12 PM EDT May 2, 2023
Updated: 7:02 PM EDT May 2, 2023

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — New video of a crash that sent two people to the hospital shows the moment an officer narrowly avoided being hit head-on by a speeding teen driver. Fairfax County Police released the video Tuesday in hopes of deterring speeders.
Dashcam footage of the close call shows a speeding driver spin out of control, and swerve into the opposite lane, nearly striking an officer who was out of his car talking to a driver he had pulled over.

Just before 12 p.m. on Monday, a patrol officer was conducting a routine traffic stop on southbound Fairfax County Parkway, prior to Braddock Road. As the officer was approaching the driver from the passenger side, another car speeding northbound crossed over the median and smashed into the same car.

The officer just barely jumps out of the way to avoid being hit as the speeding driver crashes into the pulled-over car. He then calls for backup help and begins checking both drivers for injuries.

Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said it is a miracle the officer is alive, and only sustained minor injuries. The chief said the black 2018 BMW M3 that caused the crash was driven by a 17-year-old going over 120 miles per hour.

The adult driver who had been pulled over on the traffic stop was taken to an area hospital with minor injuries. They have since been released. The teen driver and their two passengers also sustained minor injuries.

The teen driver accused in the head-on crash stayed at the scene and is now facing charges for reckless driving.

The crash comes as the police department is ramping up traffic enforcement efforts and outreach to high schools as more incidents involving teens go up. So far in 2023, there have been eight deadly crashes involving juveniles in the county.

The Fairfax County Police Department hopes parents and guardians consider using this video as an opportunity to have a conversation with teen drivers about how their driving behavior can affect the lives of others.

The Fairfax County Parkway has become a mini autobahn. The Dulles Toll Road is worse.

May 02, 2023, 08:04 PM

blindref

When it’s not your turn to go yet.

May 02, 2023, 08:07 PM

kkina

Talk about being in the right place at the wrong time.

May 02, 2023, 08:15 PM

nasig

obviously he didn't have time to think it through but if it ever happens again, diving over the barricade is a better move. glad he is ok. very terrifying event.

May 02, 2023, 08:23 PM

comet24

Glad the office is OK he was a foot or less from getting crunched.

Giving a 17-year-old the keys to an M3 doesn't seem like a good idea.

May 02, 2023, 08:30 PM

JohnO

Wow... that is one super lucky officer.

He missed being dead by 6"

May 02, 2023, 08:51 PM

PASig

120 mph?

WTF changed in Virginia? It used to be I wouldn’t DARE drive 3 miles over the posted speed limit lest one of the cops that seemed to be behind every bush and overpass get me and give me a hefty speeding ticket.

I noticed last year going to Sandbridge, VA near VA Beach that there seemed to be very few police around like before.

May 02, 2023, 08:51 PM

Sig2340

quote:
Originally posted by JohnO:
Wow... that is one super lucky officer.

He missed being dead by 6"

May 02, 2023, 08:56 PM

Sig2340

quote:
Originally posted by PASig:
120 mph?

WTF changed in Virginia? It used to be I wouldn’t DARE drive 3 miles over the posted speed limit lest one of the cops that seemed to be behind every bush and overpass get me and give me a hefty speeding ticket.

I noticed last year going to Sandbridge, VA near VA Beach that there seemed to be very few police around like before.

I wouldn’t want to mention a story I know of an individual, who took his father’s sports car, and driving about 95 mph, passed a Virginia State Trooper, on his 17th birthday. And did not even get pulled over. Nearly died of a heart attack, but got away clean.

May 02, 2023, 10:07 PM

mikeyspizza

How does a 17-year old have a $50k vehicle? Because Fairfax County is one of the wealthiest areas in the country. I wonder if mommy/daddy can buy his way out of it.

May 02, 2023, 10:17 PM

Rightwire

500 miles of freeway and you had to hit the 50' I was using for this traffic stop? From the other side!!!!!!

May 02, 2023, 10:19 PM

tatortodd

Glad the Officer escaped and the parked vehicle driver only had minor injuries. It could've been much worse.

Remember the 2021 crash where the rich idiot bought his 17 year old son a Lamborghini SUV, and he sped into a car killing the 32 year old driver. This is what was left of the victim's Lexus sedan:

May 02, 2023, 10:39 PM

Dakor

Based on the video, I'm willing to bet the teenager rounded the curve and slammed on the brakes as he noted the police cruiser on the other side of the highway. That maneuver combined with the momentum shift in the turn, ultimately led to the car fishtailing and almost taking out the police officer + the citizen in the car he hit.

I too am surprised by the comments regarding speeding in VA as it was one of the worst states to drive through w/o being hassled by local yocal sheriffs/deputies seeking to boost a given town's revenue for minor speeding infractions. While this was less frequent in NoVA, the presence of many police cruisers tended to demotivate speedy driving. Much has perhaps changed since the Wuhan virus.

May 02, 2023, 10:55 PM

akcopnfbks

Videos like this make me glad I am retired. And happy it wasn't this brother's time. The Norns decided it wasn't his fate.

May 03, 2023, 09:00 AM

92fstech

Good situational awareness on the part of that officer, as well as smart tactics taking the passenger-side approach. And quite a bit of luck. Impressive composure on the radio afterwards and getting right back to work, too. Glad he made it through that uninjured.

May 03, 2023, 09:17 AM

Rightwire

This isn't a criticism of the officer as he made a split second decision and was in a really bad location given what was coming at him. He made a decision and acted. If he had hesitated even half a second his nickname would have been 'Slim'. Contrary to the article it does appear the nose of the vehicle did tag him and knock him down.

But...

The city where I worked had 2 major freeways that we were responsible for. We were taught to always have an escape plan at least 90 degrees from the potential threat, if possible 45 degrees up stream. If you can put a barrier between you and the incident all the better.

In this officers case the concept would have been turn turn to his right, hopped the barrier, and run 45 degrees away from his cruiser and the car. His escape path put him directly in potential damage path. It is human nature to run away from what is coming at you but sometimes that puts you in a bad place.

I made a dive/jump over a freeway barrier more than once. The ones that take you to Pucker 10 are the ones that you hear and don't see. Typically because you're focused on your task or the patient and happen so fast no one has time to even get their mouth open to shout a warning.

May 03, 2023, 09:20 AM

erj_pilot

^^^^^^
Sage advice and guidance.

Like in NASCAR, go to from where the accident is coming…NOT where it’s gonna be a second from now.

"If you’re a leader, you lead the way. Not just on the easy ones; you take the tough ones too…” – MAJ Richard D. Winters (1918-2011), E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne

"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil... Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel." - Isaiah 5:20,24