Video footage captured the horrifying moment an all-terrain vehicle driver loses control and crashes into a police car that had swerved out of its lane to block pedestrians.
The driver of the ATV suffered serious injuries after the collision in New Haven, Connecticut, on Sunday.
He was thrown violently onto the dashboard when the police cruiser suddenly veered into his lane and stopped briefly in front of him to prevent him from driving the ATV on a restricted road.
Despite this, police insist the officer was carrying out a “potentially life-saving maneuver on behalf of this family that was in danger.”
The incident occurred around 3:40 p.m., when officers responded to reports of ATV drivers using a road restricted to pedestrian traffic since 2020.
A video has captured the horrifying moment an all-terrain vehicle driver loses control and crashes into a police car that had swerved out of its lane to block pedestrians.
The driver of the ATV suffered serious injuries after the collision in New Haven, Connecticut, on Sunday.
He was thrown violently onto the dashboard when the police cruiser suddenly swerved into his lane and briefly stopped in front of him to prevent him from driving the ATV on a restricted road.
The officer, part of a team assigned to address complaints of reckless driving by ATV and dirt bike drivers, was seen patrolling the city’s East Rock Park when he saw the ATV speeding on Farnam Drive toward the pedestrians.
In the video, the patrol car slows down and positions itself to block the lane just after the families have passed.
According to police, the cruiser maneuver left room for the ATV driver to maneuver safely.
“Officers responded to the area of East Rock Park for reports of a group congregating there and used Farnam Drive to access the park,” New Haven police said.
“Officers slowed the vehicle and tilted it to protect families and pedestrians who had just passed, while providing an exit point to the side for the oncoming ATV to pass the vehicle,” police described.
Despite this, the ATV lost control and struck the front passenger side window of the vehicle. The driver suffered serious injuries and was taken to a hospital.
“This is an unfortunate and stark reminder of the extreme dangers of illegal ATVs and dirt bikes on city streets, both to pedestrians and to the operators of the vehicles themselves,” the police chief said Tuesday. of New Haven, Karl Jacobson, in a statement.
“Our police officers participated in a potentially life-saving maneuver on behalf of this family that was in danger.”
In the video, the patrol car slows down and positions itself to block the lane just after the families have passed.
According to police, the cruiser maneuver left room for the ATV driver to maneuver safely.
“While we are glad the family was protected from harm, what happened to the driver is tragic and we hope for his full and speedy recovery and urge the public not to engage in this type of activity,” Jacobson said.
“They hear an ATV coming in their direction and they move to the left side to protect the people behind them,” Jacobson added. “The officer was not traveling at any speed when the incident occurred and then also gave an exit area, meaning they could have avoided the police car.”
“We need to make sure that people, which is a lot of people walking and biking in that area, are safe, so we’ll see more patrols in the future,” Jacobson said.