Dramatic dashcam video released by Tennessee authorities captures the terrifying moment a patrol vehicle was slammed from behind during a traffic stop, setting off a chain-reaction crash along the interstate.
The startling collision unfolded on the shoulder of Interstate 65 in Davidson County, where a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper had pulled over another vehicle.
In footage shared by the Tennessee Highway Patrol on Facebook, an out-of-control vehicle can be seen striking the cruiser with heavy force, shoving it forward into the stopped car in front of it.
After the impact, the vehicle that hit the patrol car drifted around the cruiser and partly back toward the highway, its front end visibly crushed from the crash.
“Body camera video captures the force of the collision from inside the patrol car,” the department said on social media. “The impact knocked the body camera from the trooper’s uniform and sent it tumbling to the floorboard.”
Tennessee Highway Patrol said the crash serves as a stark warning about the importance of obeying Tennessee’s Move Over Law, which is designed to protect officers, emergency crews and stopped motorists on the roadside.
“When you see flashing lights ahead, move over when it is safe to do so,” the agency wrote on Facebook.
“If you cannot move over, slow down and proceed with caution.”
It wasn’t clear what, if any, injuries the trooper inside the struck patrol vehicle suffered, but he could be heard calling for back-up moments after the collision.
