Dashcam shows car slamming into deputy’s patrol car from behind on US-127

Clinton County Sheriff’s Office has released a video of Thursday morning’s crash, in which a Clinton County deputy was injured after being hit from behind while in his patrol car.

At the time of the crash, the Clinton County Sergeant was blocking the inner lane on southbound US-127, near Maple Rapids Road, for the investigation of an earlier crash. In the earlier crash, a semi-tractor trailer had overturned a spilled a load of soybeans all over the north and southbound travel lanes.

The Sergeant had been trying to slow down traffic and was directing cars to the outer lane, where there was less of a traffic hazard.

While the Sergeant was in the patrol car with all the emergency equipment activated, another car hit the patrol car from behind. According to the sheriff’s office, that car had been traveling in the outer lane of US-127 and had then switched into the lane where the Sergeant’s vehicle was stopped and slammed into the rear of the patrol vehicle.

In the recently released video, a rear-facing image from the patrol car shows the other car approaching at a high speed from behind and slamming into the back of the patrol car, mangling the front of the car that hit it. The sound of shattering glass is audible.

Officials transported the Sergeant to Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, where the Sergeant was treated for injuries and released six hours later.