State trooper hit by suspected drunk driver in Olympia
OLYMPIA, Wash. - A trooper on a routine traffic stop was knocked to the ground by the mirror of a passing car early Sunday, but he managed to pick himself up and chase down the offending driver, who now faces possible DUI charges, the Washington State Patrol reported.
The incident unfolded at about 2 a.m. Sunday when the trooper pulled over a vehicle for a traffic stop near the intersection of Pacific Avenue and Pattison Street in Olympia.
As the trooper got out of his cruiser and was walking toward the vehicle to give the driver a ticket, another vehicle - a 1998 Nissan Altima - was heading west on Pacific toward the trooper.
The trooper saw the Nissan coming toward him. As the trooper jumped out of the way, he was struck on the arm by the mirror of the passing Nissan and knocked down. The Nissan kept going.
The trooper quickly recovered, jumped back into his patrol car and went after the fleeing Nissan. He followed it with flashing lights until the driver pulled about six blocks away, at Chambers Street and Pacific Avenue.
The driver of the Nissan, a 28-year-old Puyallup woman, tested positive for DUI, the State Patrol reported.
The trooper was later taken to the hospital as a precaution. He was treated for abrasions and released.
It was not immediately clear what became of the driver who was pulled over for the original traffic stop.
The incident unfolded at about 2 a.m. Sunday when the trooper pulled over a vehicle for a traffic stop near the intersection of Pacific Avenue and Pattison Street in Olympia.
As the trooper got out of his cruiser and was walking toward the vehicle to give the driver a ticket, another vehicle - a 1998 Nissan Altima - was heading west on Pacific toward the trooper.
The trooper saw the Nissan coming toward him. As the trooper jumped out of the way, he was struck on the arm by the mirror of the passing Nissan and knocked down. The Nissan kept going.
The trooper quickly recovered, jumped back into his patrol car and went after the fleeing Nissan. He followed it with flashing lights until the driver pulled about six blocks away, at Chambers Street and Pacific Avenue.
The driver of the Nissan, a 28-year-old Puyallup woman, tested positive for DUI, the State Patrol reported.
The trooper was later taken to the hospital as a precaution. He was treated for abrasions and released.
It was not immediately clear what became of the driver who was pulled over for the original traffic stop.
Like moths to the flame they are. Something about those bright LED emergency lights the WSP uses now really are irresistible to a drunk.
Pot and alcohol. Â Both the cause of road rage.
 @HullenbeckCowl People with anger issues and think that everything in front of them is theirs, and  everything beside them is theirs, would be road rage. You do not need alcohol or pot to do this.Â
Actually, road rage isn't even an implied factor in this...... pot either........just another stupid drunk that has been removed from the road. Thank You to our Law Enforcement Officers who risk their lives every day to keep the rest of us safe.
 @HullenbeckCowl Please..........Your pot paranoia is really getting old.Â
 @Susabelle And your hug a drug attitude is getting older.
This stuff is totally out of control.
Sadly - it will probably take the death of a State trooper (in a DUI incident), or that of a very close relative of a State lawmaker who HASN'T previously been on board with a serious DUI bill that has some real teeth - to get something done in this state.
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Glad the trooper is okay. Just driving during the Holiday Season always makes me a bit more nervous. I really dislike drunk drivers........
The driver who was pulled over for the original traffic stop most likely still got their ticket since it is done by computer and printed out. Now if the trooper would have been hit BEFORE he wrote the ticket then that would be a different story.
 @Tattooed_Angel But their license plate would have been recorded. But without knowing who the driver is....
"The incident unfolded at about 2 a.m. Sunday " - I'm starting to think that at this hour/day (& even earlier on Sat. night), most of the drivers on the road are drunk, from the "driving" examples I see regularly. Â Yikes!
@Smartypants stastics show that from 2300 until about 0300 1 in 10 people on the road are drunk
 @Dhnr Where is the link to that statistic?
Journalstar.com
MADD
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One in sixty  vehicles has an impaired driver during the day.
One out of  twelve  at night.
One out of 4 after 11pm, in an area with a high consentration of bars, based on a survey in the 90's 1 out of every 50 drivers were legally drunk during the day.
 @WhatdidIsay?Â
Forbes.com, Auto blog.com.
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The most dangerous month to drive in is August.
The most dangerous day is Saturday.
The Thansgiving weekend is the deadliest Holiday to be on the road.
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The most dangerous times of the day to be on the road is between 5 & 7 pm, the afternoon rush, while the afternoon wins on volume, the most dangerous time per driver on the road is between midnight and 4am.
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 @Dhnr I'm surprised that it's only 1 in 10. 1 in 10 is still too many.