Hurt trooper: 'It was so quick ... the car was just there'
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - A state trooper who was hit while helping someone on the side of the road is speaking out about the incident just as a new law takes effect to get people to slow down when they see emergency crews.
"I'm a lot better than what it could've been," says Trooper Brandon Lee of the Washington State Patrol, calling the roadside crash a "scary" situation.
Lee says he is still hurting from his near-miss on the highway.
"I flew back in the seat then flew forward and hit the driver side window," he says.
Trooper Lee has a sore back and neck, and he couldn't work for a week.
He had pulled over to help a driver stuck on the side of the road when another car smashed into his patrol car just as he was getting out.
"It was so quick - boom - the car was just there," he says.
But starting Jan. 1, the fine doubles for drivers who aren't being careful when they pass emergency crews on the road.
According to the Washington State Patrol, there have been nearly 100 collisions involving troopers stopped on the side of the highway since 2006.
In 90 percent of the cases, they had their emergency lights on. And in 41 percent of the collisions, the troopers were injured.
Officials say the same thing happens to other emergency personnel and vehicles who often find themselves working along the sides of roads and highways.
"Firefighting crews, ambulance, people running into the back of them - you know we've had enough," says Trooper Keith Leary of the Washington State Patrol.
Under the new law, the "emergency zone" where drivers need to slow down and move over a lane - if you can - extends 200 feet from the scene where emergency crews helping out.
The fine for speeding, or not driving carefully through an emergency zone, jumps to $248 starting Jan. 1. Violators could also spend time in jail and get their license suspended for two months.
"We just want to do our jobs," says Trooper Lee. "We're trying to help people."
"I'm a lot better than what it could've been," says Trooper Brandon Lee of the Washington State Patrol, calling the roadside crash a "scary" situation.
Lee says he is still hurting from his near-miss on the highway.
"I flew back in the seat then flew forward and hit the driver side window," he says.
Trooper Lee has a sore back and neck, and he couldn't work for a week.
He had pulled over to help a driver stuck on the side of the road when another car smashed into his patrol car just as he was getting out.
"It was so quick - boom - the car was just there," he says.
But starting Jan. 1, the fine doubles for drivers who aren't being careful when they pass emergency crews on the road.
According to the Washington State Patrol, there have been nearly 100 collisions involving troopers stopped on the side of the highway since 2006.
In 90 percent of the cases, they had their emergency lights on. And in 41 percent of the collisions, the troopers were injured.
Officials say the same thing happens to other emergency personnel and vehicles who often find themselves working along the sides of roads and highways.
"Firefighting crews, ambulance, people running into the back of them - you know we've had enough," says Trooper Keith Leary of the Washington State Patrol.
Under the new law, the "emergency zone" where drivers need to slow down and move over a lane - if you can - extends 200 feet from the scene where emergency crews helping out.
The fine for speeding, or not driving carefully through an emergency zone, jumps to $248 starting Jan. 1. Violators could also spend time in jail and get their license suspended for two months.
"We just want to do our jobs," says Trooper Lee. "We're trying to help people."
Learn about changes coming to commenting