A Florida state trooper is being hailed a hero after putting herself in the path of an out-of-control motorist speeding towards a group of runners.
When Deputy Toni Shuck realized the alleged drunk driver was headed straight for the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, where a 10K race was taking place, she knew she had to act quickly.
The highway leading to the bridge was closed, and another deputy attempted to pull into the path of the oncoming car. But the driver swerved and kept going.
Shuck positioned her vehicle directly in front of the speeding car.
“My decision was to put my truck in the middle of the road and hope she’d see it and that would stop. If she had gotten onto the bridge, it probably would have been devastating,” Shuck said.
Dashcam video shows the harrowing moment of impact. Shuck, a mom of two, miraculously survived the head-on crash.
“I don’t really think I braced for impact — maybe I did, maybe I didn’t — but it all happened so quick,” Shuck said.
Both vehicles were totaled, but a tragedy at the race was avoided.
The suspect, 52-year-old Kristen Watts, was in a wheelchair when she appeared in court and was charged with a DUI. She pleaded not guilty.