LAKE WALES, Fla. — A Lake Wales police officer and several other people narrowly escaped being crushed by a speeding car, after authorities say a distracted driver plowed into a patrol car that was pulled over on the side of the road.
At around 8:57 p.m. on Tuesday, police say Officer Jacob Raines pulled over to help a stranded driver along Highway 27 just south of Thompson Nursery Road. According to law enforcement, the driver's car was stuck in a ditch.
Officer Raines says he had his patrol car blocking part of the road with his emergency lights on while he helped the person who was stranded.
Bodycam footage shows that while the officer was assisting the two people, another car came barreling down the highway, slamming into his patrol car. The car would spin into the direction of the officer and several other people who were in the area, knocking one man down and hitting a child in the hand. The car also hit other people, but police say they didn't suffer any injuries.
Authorities say, moments before the crash, Officer Raines was standing in front of his patrol car. Had he not moved closer to the car he was helping, law enforcement says the story would have had a different ending.
Police say the driver, Jose Antonio Cuevas of Fort Myers, was charged with careless driving and texting while driving. The police car was totaled in the crash.