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It doesn't need to be a so-called Routine Traffic Stop

2K views 16 replies 12 participants last post by  chiefjason 
#1 · (Edited)
All you guys in harm's way, take care and be lucky.

Trooper jumps to avoid truck on I-81 - Roanoke.com

Trooper jumps to avoid truck on I-81
The trooper was helped up the embankment by several motorists, including the trucker.
By Jeff Sturgeon
381-1661

A Virginia State Police trooper who jumped off an embankment to avoid an out-of-control tractor-trailer was recovering at home Tuesday, two days after police charged the trucker who nearly struck the trooper with reckless driving on Interstate 81.

Trooper Kenneth Kozar, who has 21 years with the state police, was left "bruised up" after an attempt to remove a tire shred from the interstate in Southwest Virginia, Sgt. Paul Watts said.

"It was a very close call," Watts said.

A charge is pending against Enrique Gonzalez, 37, of California, police said. His hometown was not released.

I-81 is generating official concern about truck-related wrecks and their potential to end lives.

Wrecks involving commercial motor vehicles killed 12 people on I-81 in Virginia last year, more than on any other interstate, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles, which is working with state police and other agencies to tighten enforcement of equipment and other regulations.

It all began about 7 p.m. Sunday on northbound I-81 when Kozar stopped to retrieve a tire shred a short distance before the Ironto rest stop. Troopers do this kind of thing from time to time, even though it is not specifically in their job description, Watts said.

It is done with blue lights flashing on the police car.

Normally, "you park, you run out," Watts said. "Thirty seconds later, you're back on the shoulder with the debris in your hand ready to leave."

Kozar was on foot in the left northbound lane when he glanced at approaching northbound traffic and saw a big rig whose driver appeared to be losing control, police said.

Kozar ran off the highway, crossed the shoulder, jumped over the guardrail and tumbled downhill, Watts said. Fearing the truck may tumble off the interstate, too, he tumbled all the way to the bottom, where he came to rest in a smelly, overgrown quagmire about 2 feet deep with water, Watts said.

The truck's driver, who was hauling melons and red peppers, told police that he pulled to the left lane when he saw traffic ahead of him slowing down, Watts said.

His plan was to slow down there, but he couldn't.

The trucker then veered across the right lane and onto the outside shoulder and braked when he saw the trooper's parked vehicle, Watts said. His truck hit the guardrail, fell to one side and slid into the rear of the police car, Watts said.

By then, Kozar had jumped.

Several motorists, including the trucker, went down the embankment to Kozar and helped bring him up. Everybody got soaked and muddy.

"I'm immensely grateful," Watts said. "I'm very thankful that the public thought enough of the trooper to go down and help him."

Watts, asked if the wreck was preventable, said he did not know. All the other motorists slowed and kept their vehicles under control, Watts said, while the trucker "did not see what everybody else was seeing."

"The lesson to be learned is, as in most crashes, driver inattention is a causative factor," Watts said.

"Driver inattention puts people in bad situations that sometimes are very difficult to recover from."

It took about 12 hours to fully reopen the road. On Tuesday, the guardrail remained flattened, and peppers and melons littered the area.
FWIIW & totally unimportant -- According to the produce manager, it was more than just "peppers and melons" and it was why my local Kroger was low on produce when I shopped Tuesday, senior discount day. He said it was a Kroger Truck headed to that store. Of course the produce manager could have been blowing smoke.
 
#2 ·
You see it all day long on the road, people not paying attention. Texting, applying make-up, talking, reading books/newspapers, or just daydreaming cause, or contribute to, virtually every "accident". Why people don't get it, I will never understand.

My favorite to this day is the 20 something guy driving down the interstate with one hand on the wheel and (get this) BOTH feet on the dash talking on his cell phone. I cringe just thinking about him.
 
#9 ·
Having driven 18-wheelers for seven years even I can’t believe some of the things I have seen going on behind the wheel. Anything from applying makeup to shaving to some things you won’t even see in a XXX film.
 
#3 ·
I've done it. I've hit the lights and removed large parts of tire on the road. Not too long ago we had a kid killed when he hit part of a retread on the highway and lost control of his motorcyle.

I can imagine watching a swerving truck complete with smoking tires,the sound that comes with it and a snaking trailer coming at you.

I'm glad the trooper lived to tell about it.
That driver at the very least should have been at least cited for Careless and Prohibited driving.
 
#5 ·
If they want him they can get him.

Va code:

§ 46.2-816. Following too closely.

The driver of a motor vehicle shall not follow another motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard to the speed of both vehicles and the traffic on, and conditions of, the highway at the time.

§ 46.2-852. Reckless driving; general rule.

Irrespective of the maximum speeds permitted by law, any person who drives a vehicle on any highway recklessly or at a speed or in a manner so as to endanger the life, limb, or property of any person shall be guilty of reckless driving.

§ 46.2-853. Driving vehicle which is not under control; faulty brakes.

A person shall be guilty of reckless driving who drives a vehicle which is not under proper control or which has inadequate or improperly adjusted brakes on any highway in the Commonwealth.

§ 46.2-861. Driving too fast for highway and traffic conditions.

A person shall be guilty of reckless driving who exceeds a reasonable speed under the circumstances and traffic conditions existing at the time, regardless of any posted speed limit.

§ 46.2-868. Reckless driving; penalties.

A. Every person convicted of reckless driving under the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.


§ 46.2-868.1. Aggressive driving; penalties.

A. A person is guilty of aggressive driving if (i) the person violates one or more of the following: § 46.2-802 (Drive on right side of highways), § 46.2-804 (Failure to observe lanes marked for traffic), § 46.2-816 (Following too closely), § 46.2-821 (Vehicles before entering certain highways shall stop or yield right-of-way), § 46.2-833.1 (Evasion of traffic control devices), § 46.2-838 (Passing when overtaking a vehicle), § 46.2-841 (When overtaking vehicle may pass on right), § 46.2-842 (Driver to give way to overtaking vehicle), § 46.2-842.1 (Driver to give way to certain overtaking vehicles on divided highway), § 46.2-843 (Limitations on overtaking and passing), any provision of Article 8 (§ 46.2-870 et seq.) of Chapter 8 of Title 46.2 (Speed), or § 46.2-888 (Stopping on highways); and (ii) that person is a hazard to another person or commits an offense in clause (i) with the intent to harass, intimidate, injure or obstruct another person.

....
[emphasis added]
 
#17 ·
I'll vote not looking or doing something else, radio, CB, whatever. If you get in a situation where you have to panic stop a truck, it's already bad. He may have layed on the brakes hard instead of pumping them too. Air brakes are a very different feel to regular brakes. If you don't pump them they can either lock or air out and not work at all. I've had mine start "popping off" and my brakes go away. Scares you bad. Scared the lady in the mini van that I passed in the grass more. :gah:

But I have also seen this almost exact scenario play out with a car. Heavy wrecker, two big box trucks, NCHP, and a mechanic truck. Kid panicked, lost control, hit the mechanic truck then pinned the other driver to the back of his truck. Being squeezed between the bumper of an SUV and a box truck can be the end of your career. It was for his. Lucky for me it was all internal, cause I was the only person on scene interested in helping him. That was a bad day.
 
#7 ·
Anybody that has occasion to work (walking) on the highways will tell you it is a very dangerous place. Hundreds of near misses for every report you read. I've almost been a speedbump a few times myself.
 
#8 ·
Hundreds of near misses for every report you read. I've almost been a speedbump a few times myself.
Thats the truth. One of our county officers got whacked by a mirror a few weeks ago. Luckily for him it collapsed and he was only bruised a bit. Could have been much worse.
 
#10 ·
Sadly it seems that the only thing obeying the traffic laws will get you these days is "the finger", from all those people that just have to be there 10 minutes ago, and think tailgating is going to move others faster.

Try an experiment if you dare, go to any interstate, or major highway, and drive the speed limit (or even 5-10 MPH over), see how many people you pass...
 
#11 · (Edited)
Happy the Trooper lived to tell the tale! While on the Delaware State Police a fellow Trooper had stopped his patrol vehicle behind a disabled vehicle and was arranging for a tow truck when him and his vehicle was run over by a tractor trailer. The driver had fallen asleep. This happened at about 10:00 a.m. on a bright sunny day, all the lights were lit on the crusier. The tractor trailer made it all the way to the front windshield, atop the crusier. My friend was pensioned off on a disability pension, he was crushed while still inside his car. Luckily, he has recovered and the only permanent damage was to his hearing of all things. This took place on I-95 S/B just below the Delaware rest stop.
 
#16 ·
Around here they mostly get yelled at when they breeze by the medic. When that law first came to VA I saw a VSP Trooper tell a reporter that they were not in favor of the law because it would cause traffic backups! FWIW Troopers are brainwashed in the academy that traffic must be kept moving at all costs. I have seen Troopers move traffic thru a crash scene where we were moving back and forth thru traffic to tend to the patients!
 
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