Mullica police officer survives close call with alleged drunk driver
NBC40.net
MULLICA TWP. -
Days after the incident, Patrolman Erik Carricarte is still shaken up after the crash he says could easily have ended his life.
"Side scraped my vehicle, hit my feet and the vehicle probably came about a foot and a half from hitting me,” described Carricarte. “It was extremely scary."
Carricarte and his partner Patrolman Michael Jamerson were conducting a pair of.....Continue Reading
traffic stops when a suspected drunk driver slammed into his patrol car.
"The front right came in contact with the rear left of Patrolman Carricarte's vehicle and it went right into a clockwise rotation," explained Jamerson. "I thought I just witnessed my partner, you know, lose his life in the line of duty. I didn't know if he was returning to his vehicle or where he was positioned."
The dash cam on the vehicle at the time of the crash is Mullica Township's first ever, and was installed just days before the crash.
"They came and installed it for 45 days and on the second day it was in use, we get this happened," said Mullica Police Chief John Thompson.
The camera was installed after a new law was passed in the state, requiring all new police vehicles to incorporate the technology.
The camera provide police with video evidence, which can come in handy in a township like Mullica, where police conduct between five and seven thousand traffic stops a year.
"A picture's worth a thousand words,” said Chief Thompson. “You can say the same thing for a video."
Now Mullica police are hoping this footage helps remind drivers to be safe behind the wheel, particularly during this holiday season.
"Motor vehicle stops are very dangerous that time of night and time of the morning,” said Carricarte. “You don't know what you're walking up to and you don't know what could possibly happen."
"If you see flashing lights whether it's police, ambulance, fire, tow, get over to the furthest lane you can possible, especially on the highways,” said Jamerson.
