Injured Hillsborough County deputy recounts I-75 crash: 'Very scary moment'
TAMPA, Fla. - Corporal Niomi Bruce with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) is recovering after a driver crashed into her patrol vehicle on I-75 — while she was investigating a completely separate incident.
What led to I-75 patrol vehicle crash?
The backstory:
It all started as a traffic stop for a vehicle swerving out of its lane on Monday, October 19 around 10 p.m. Instead of stopping, the vehicle fled, investigators told FOX 13.
RELATED: Hillsborough deputy released from hospital after patrol vehicle hit on I-75: HCSO
HCSO’s Aviation Unit tracked the vehicle to I-75, eventually watching as it moved off the road and into a construction zone. Helicopter video shows the vehicle later rolling down an embankment onto U.S. 301.
Bruce was among the deputies who responded to help secure that crash scene. She was sitting inside her patrol vehicle waiting for a tow truck and speaking with her sergeant through the passenger window.
"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.'"
Deputy injured in I-75 crash
Big picture view:
A vehicle — that was completely unrelated to the first investigation — slammed into the back of Bruce’s car, which had its emergency lights on.
"When the impact actually hit my car, it actually threw me out of my seat. And I had hit my laptop that was in the center, my rearview mirror, and I actually — at some point — hit the front windshield of my car as well," Bruce said.
Newly released body camera footage and 911 audio capture the moments her colleagues rushed in to help. In the video, Bruce can be heard telling fellow deputies that she could not feel her legs.
She suffered a lower back tear, bruising, whiplash, and muscle damage. Thankfully, the loss of feeling in her lower extremities was temporary, and she has since been released from the hospital.
"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," Bruce said. "It was a very scary moment, so I'm super thankful."
Florida's Move Over Law
What they're saying:
HCSO is reminding drivers about Florida's Move Over law.
"Please, this job is dangerous enough," Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said. "You know, move over."
By law, if you see any vehicle stopped on the side of the road with its hazard lights on, emergency flares, or visible emergency signage, you must move over one lane. If you cannot safely change lanes, you are required to slow down to 20 miles per hour below the posted speed limit.
"When you get that call in the middle of the night that you have a deputy who was in a traffic crash and can't feel their lower extremities, your heart breaks, your heart drops," Chronister told FOX 13. "You have that moment of panic because I see all 4,500 employees as members of a family. And family takes care of family. So, you can imagine when something traumatizing like this happens physically and mentally, it's heartbreaking."
The 21-year-old driver who struck Bruce was cited for careless driving.
Original crash investigation leads to arrests
Dig deeper:
Meanwhile, the four individuals inside the vehicle in the initial rollover crash were all arrested and are now facing a slew of traffic and drug-related charges. They have been identified as:
- Leo Gradley III, 29
- Angel Pribble, 27
- Jasmine Likely, 36
- Andrew Hopson, 33
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Corporal Niomi Bruce and Sheriff Chad Chronister, who explained the crash and their reactions in interviews and newly released footage, as well as the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.