A Virginia police officer is recovering after a drunk driver crashed into his patrol car while he and another driver were being pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving.
According to Virginia State Police, Trooper C. Aziz was dispatched around 3 a.m. Tuesday to a sedan stopped in the northbound lanes of Interstate 495 in Fairfax County.
State police said the driver of the sedan was still in the vehicle and did not comply with troopers’ requests to exit or move the vehicle to a safer location.
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Virginia State Police Trooper C. Aziz was struck by a drunk driver early Tuesday morning while he was pulling over another driver for drunk driving. (Virginia State Police)
While Aziz was dealing with the driver of the sedan, a Jeep Cherokee struck a tractor-trailer that had stopped in the travel lane where the sedan had stopped.
The Jeep struck a tractor-trailer, which spun and struck the officer’s patrol vehicle, which then struck a parked sedan and an officer who was standing outside the sedan’s driver’s side door.
The incident was caught on dashcam footage from the officer’s patrol car, and police said the officer was surprised to escape with only minor injuries. She was taken to Fairfax Inova Hospital for examination.
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On Interstate 495, Officer C. Aziz was assisting another driver who was believed to have been driving under the influence when he was struck by a drunk driver. (Virginia State Police)
The Jeep driver was identified as Joanna Hatch, 35. Police said she was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Erica Bernard, 43, was the driver of a sedan that was stopped on the side of the interstate and was also arrested. She is charged with driving under the influence, obstruction, possession of a Schedule 1 or 2 drug, refusal to submit to a breathalyzer/blood test and unlawful stopping of a vehicle on a highway.
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Both Hatch and Bernard were transported to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
