GREENE COUNTY, Ga. — A Greene County Sheriff's Deputy is lucky to be alive after his patrol car was struck during a traffic stop in a 70 mile per hour zone along I-20.
"The body camera really doesn't show you just how close it really was. Doesn't do it the justice it deserves," Deputy Josh Wilson said.
The 25-year-old deputy had just pulled over a driver along I-20 near Greensboro. Stunning body cam video shows him open his car door to exit his patrol car when a truck swiped the vehicle.
"I hope this is something that we can use for education for the Move Over Law because it is something that a lot of people don't really realize or they don't think it is not a big deal to move over," Wilson said. "Now you can see what can happen when you don't. I hope this can be used to help people understand that."
Wilson said the driver who hit him failed to move over and the body cam video shows the truck being a split second from hitting him.
Wilson who was uninjured said he was thankful he made it back home after the crash so he could see his wife, son Julian, who will soon turn 1-year-old, and daughter Sophia who is 3-years-old. He married his wife a week ago.
"It is good to continue being married," Wilson said with a bit of a laugh.
The Greene County deputy estimates the truck that hit him was traveling between 70 and 75 miles per hour. His patrol car's door was bent forward, the door's glass was busted out, and the crash dented the front end of the vehicle. The car needed to be towed away.
Wilson said the incident began as he pulled a driver over when it appeared she didn't have her headlights on at night.
"I wanted to stop her and make sure she was safe. At the same time, I noticed she had a tag light that was out which is minor compared to the headlights," Wilson remembered.
He described the line-of-sight along the stretch of the interstate as "perfect." Wilson said the road is straight and he can see headlights for a long distance.
"When I looked in the side-view mirror I saw a semi-truck in the fast lane. That is the only vehicle I saw behind me. So I went ahead and stepped out of my car and at the time I stepped out I just heard a noise that didn't sound right."
Before Wilson could get out of his car though, what he said appeared to be a rental moving truck hit his car, narrowly missing him.
When Wilson realized what just happened, he was visibly shaken.
"The first thing is 'okay, I was just hit.' My adrenaline was going at that point, my major concern is my safety and then the safety of who I have stopped. I paused for a second, breathed real deep, then I called for assistance to let them know what had happened, and then after that, I started checking on the driver."
After making sure the driver he stopped was OK, he told her about the car's lights and gave her permission to leave.
The driver of the truck that hit the patrol car pulled off and then talked with Wilson.
"He's an older gentleman, he just stated that he thought he had room to get by and he didn't mean to hit me. He actually came to check on me and I appreciated that."
The Greene County Sheriff's Office confirmed the Georgia State Patrol is investigating the crash.
A GSP report obtained by 11Alive shows the agency cited the driver of the truck who hit Wilson for failing to follow the state's Move Over Law. The report details the driver being unable to move over due to a truck in the far left lane, but when the driver couldn't move over he didn't slow down or stop. The report also shows the driver was cited for an expired license.
In a Facebook post, the sheriff's office used the incident as a reminder to obey the state's Move Over Law.
Wilson said he will return to work later this week and his mindset of expecting the unexpected while stopping cars along the interstate will continue.
"I've stopped many, many cars along I-20. We all know the risk of being out on any roadway, but especially I-20 with the dangers associated with that. The biggest thing is you have to prepare yourself for the unexpected. Because you can do everything 100 percent right and something can still go wrong. The biggest thing you have to realize is sometimes things happen and you have to be able to react to it."