Video shows car barreling toward Virginia cop — then quick-thinking officer steps in
A police officer’s dashboard camera captured the harrowing moment he yanked a fellow officer to safety as a car skidded across the highway and smashed into a vehicle near where they were standing.
The incident unfolded around 5 p.m. on Oct. 3 on the side of Highway 23 in Virginia, about six miles from the Tennessee border. Gate City Police Chief Justin C. Miller shared footage on the department’s Facebook page along with an explanation of what happened.
In the 13-second clip, two Gate City police officers are seen talking on the shoulder next to a patrol car. Miller identified them as officers Jessica McGraw and Matthew Stewart.
McGraw was the first officer to arrive at the scene of a crash in the southbound lanes on Highway 23 and called Stewart for backup, Miller said.
The pair were discussing an issue with a driver’s license when a white car traveling in the opposite direction appeared to lose control in the northbound lanes, skid across the median and crash into McGraw’s patrol vehicle.
“The impact of the passenger vehicle rapidly forced the patrol vehicle off the shoulder of the road towards the conversing officers,” the police chief said. “Officer Stewart caught a glimpse of the vehicle coming towards them and was able to react within a moment’s notice to grab McGraw and pull her out of the path of the spinning patrol car.”
McGraw’s SUV came to a rest directly in front of the car where the dash camera was recording. In the video, both officers are still standing and can be seen immediately reaching for their radios.
Miller said Stewart checked on the driver while McGraw contacted Scott County Central Dispatch.
“It is my belief the quick actions of Officer Stewart not only saved himself from serious bodily injury or death but also that of Officer McGraw,” the chief said.
According to police, Stewart had minor injuries from a brush guard on McGraw’s car hitting his leg as he pushed her out of the way. He told Miller his leg “went numb like I had a bad charley horse.”
Virginia State Police investigated the crash, and the driver of the white car was issued a citation for failure to maintain control.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Video shows car barreling toward Virginia cop — then quick-thinking officer steps in."
