Video: El Paso Officer Survives Hit By Vehicle During Traffic Stop
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EL PASO, TX (CBSDFW.COM) -- An El Paso police officer was taken to the hospital last Friday morning after being hit by an alleged drunk driver.
Police said Officer Andy Rodriguez responded to a crash at 11200 Montana Ave. in East El Paso just before 3 a.m.
According to KDBC in El Paso, Rodriguez was conducting a sobriety test on one of the drivers involved in another crash when he was struck.
El Paso Police Department Spokesperson Robert Gomez said Rodriguez is a twenty-year veteran of the EPPD. "He believes that taking drunk drivers off the street is something vital for us to be safe in El Paso," said Gomez.
Dash-cam video from the El Paso Police Department shows Rodriguez notice something while questioning a suspect along the side of the road. The officer only had seconds to react.
A suspected drunk driver hit a patrol unit which then hit Rodriguez. Dash-cam video shows Rodriguez rushing the suspect towards the shoulder of the road. Then – at the last second – pushing the suspect away, potentially saving his life.
"When you hear your heart sinks...it's the hardest news you can hear," said Gomez. "What goes through your mind is hope for the best...and hopefully take care of what we need to take care of."
Dash-cam video clearly shows Rodriguez getting struck by a vehicle. Officials say miraculously Rodriguez was not seriously injured.
"What the video does show me and what it shows everyone is Andy's true nature," said Gomez. "He didn't think of himself, he made sure that the person he was interviewing was safe, even though it put him in the path of that car. That's just the type of officer Andy is."
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