NORTH PORT, Fla. (WSVN) — A driver slammed into a police cruiser along Interstate 95, bringing a deadly series of crashes on the west coast of Florida to a chaotic end.
Dashcam footage capured the moment the patrol vehicle was hit by a driver who didn’t move over in North Port, Wednesday night.
That officer was responding to help with a crash on I-75 and was luckily not inside of the cruiser at the time.
Authorities said this needs to serve as a reminder for people to see what happens when you don’t move over.
“Sometimes, if people see the consequence to the actions, they’re able to piece it together a little better. It’s one thing for us to say, ‘Hey, you need to move over,’ but to see what happened is a totally different story, and hopefully it resonates with people a little more,” said North Port Police spokesperson Brittany Kammerer. “Luckily, the officer was outside his vehicle. He was responding to a call that happened prior, he was rendering aid to somebody, so he was outside the vehicle and away from the vehicle when it occurred. He is very, very lucky, if he had been in the vehicle, it could have been a totally different story.”
Authorities said that motorists who are unable to move over are supposed to slow down to 20 miles under the posted speed limit. It isn’t just for police; drivers are required to move over for anyone, including road rangers and construction crews.
Investigators said a secondary crash took place where the driver of a truck on the scene was hit and later died from his injuries.
The Florida Highway Patrol said charges are pending, but the driver who hit the officer’s car will likely face a citation for not moving over.
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.