A Virginia state trooper narrowly escaped serious injury after being struck by an impaired driver while assisting another motorist on Interstate 495 in Fairfax County early Tuesday morning.
Trooper C. Aziz had responded to a sedan stopped in the northbound lane of the interstate, where the driver was refusing to cooperate with her requests to exit or move the vehicle. As Aziz was dealing with the sedan driver, a Jeep Cherokee crashed into a tractor-trailer that was stopped due to the sedan’s position, causing a chain reaction that led to the patrol car being hit.
Despite the violent collision, dashcam footage from the trooper’s vehicle showed that Aziz only suffered minor injuries and was taken to Fairfax INOVA Hospital for evaluation. The driver of the Jeep, Joanna Hatch, 35, was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, while the sedan driver, Erica Bernard, 43, faces multiple charges including driving under the influence of drugs and obstruction.
Both Hatch and Bernard were taken to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center following the incident. The quick actions of Trooper Aziz likely prevented a more serious outcome, highlighting the dangers faced by law enforcement officers on the road.
