FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. – A Virginia State Police trooper was injured Tuesday after a suspected drunk driver crashed while the officer was speaking to another vehicle that was stopped on Interstate 495, NBC 4 reports.
The trooper, who has been identified as C. Aziz, was responding to a vehicle on Interstate 495 in Fairfax County just outside of Washington, D.C. at 3 a.m.
The sedan had stopped along the dotted lines between two right-hand travel lanes and refused to go to a safer area, according to VSP. Cars can be seen speeding by Aziz on the left in police dash cam footage. The speed limit on the stretch of I-495 where the traffic stop took place is 65 miles per hour.
Video then shows the moment a suspected drunk driver in a Jeep slammed into a tractor-trailer that was parked just in front of the sedan that had been pulled over by Aziz. The impact caused the Jeep to then spin into Aziz’s patrol car, which was parked behind the sedan with the lights flashing, State police said.
The trooper’s patrol car was pushed forward hitting Aziz in the back. The video shows Aziz as she fell to the ground. Luckily, she got back up quickly as she avoided a near catastrophe.
VSP said that Aziz didn’t break any bones but she faces a long road to recovery.
The driver of the Jeep, 35-year-old Joanna Hatch, of Alexandria, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. The driver of the sedan, 43-year-old Erica Bernard, of Albright, West Virginia, was also arrested on several charges, including driving under the influence of drugs, possession of a controlled substance and improperly stopping on a highway.