A Hillsborough County sheriff’s corporal has described the moment a car struck her patrol vehicle on Interstate 75 in Florida, leaving her temporarily unable to feel her legs.
Corporal Niomi Bruce was assisting colleagues at the scene of an earlier crash when the second vehicle hit the rear of her marked patrol car, which had its emergency lights activated. She has since been discharged from hospital and is recovering from a lower-back tear, bruising, whiplash and muscle damage.
Deputy thrown from seat in I-75 crash
The incident followed an attempted traffic stop on October 19, after deputies tried to stop a vehicle that was allegedly swerving between lanes. The driver fled, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office aviation unit tracked the vehicle to I-75.
It eventually left the carriageway and entered a construction area before rolling down an embankment towards US 301. Bruce was among the deputies who went to secure the scene and was sitting inside her patrol vehicle while waiting for a tow truck.
She was speaking to her sergeant through the passenger-side window when another car approached.
“I just remember typing on my computer. And I looked over at her, and I remember the look on her face was like she saw a ghost,” Bruce said. “And she yelled, ‘Oh crap.’”
The impact threw Bruce from her seat. She said she struck her laptop, the rear-view mirror and, at one point, the windscreen.
Newly released body-camera footage and 911 recordings show fellow deputies rushing to help. Bruce can be heard telling them that she could not feel her legs, although the loss of sensation in her lower limbs proved temporary.
“It could have been a lot worse, and that was probably the one moment in my career that could have really changed my life, my husband’s life, and my kids’ lives,” she said. “It was a very scary moment, so I’m super thankful.”
Florida Move Over law reminder
The 21-year-old driver whose vehicle struck Bruce’s patrol car was cited for careless driving. The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the collision.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister urged motorists to take extra care around emergency vehicles stopped on the roadside.
Florida’s Move Over law requires drivers approaching a stopped vehicle displaying hazard lights, emergency flares or visible warning signs to change lanes when it is safe to do so. If moving over is not possible, drivers must slow to 20 miles per hour below the posted speed limit.
“Please, this job is dangerous enough,” Chronister said. “You know, move over.”
