The Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) has shared a video showing how an officer narrowly avoided a collision with a semi-truck in a construction zone earlier this week.
The video, recorded by a dashcam, was captured this week near mile marker 10 on the H.E. Bailey Turnpike.
OHP Lt. Forrest White was assisting a work crew that included a road marking truck and a speed bump, and was traveling at 10 m.p.h. White’s patrol car was in the inside lane with its lights on to warn drivers to pull over and let the workers pass.
At the moment the video was recorded, Lieutenant White spotted a semi-truck in his rearview mirror that was not slowing down.
“Lieutenant White had to make a decision in a fraction of a second. He pulled in front of another semi-truck and ended up in the roadside ditch. Moments later, the oncoming semi-truck struck the buffer truck at an estimated speed of 50 mph. The buffer truck is there precisely to absorb the impact, and it fulfilled its purpose,” the OHP stated.
No serious injuries were reported.
Following the accident, the truck driver reportedly told Lieutenant White that he “simply hadn’t realized how slowly the construction crew was moving.”
The truck driver was fined $1,000 for failing to slow down or swerve out of the way.
You can watch the video below.
