A Utah Highway Patrol officer is receiving praise after risking his life to save others when he drove head-on into a wrong-way driver on I-80 near Lake Point in Tooele County.
Chad McCoy had just finished his shift in Salt Lake County and was on his way home when he came across the dangerous situation on the interstate.
Upon seeing vehicles ahead of him moving out of the way for a truck that was headed the opposite direction, McCoy had seconds to react. He turned on his patrol car’s lights and continued on a path towards the truck.
“Quickly I saw they weren’t pulling over/stopping. So I just tried to get the best angle that I could to try and stop him.”
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McCoy described the moment he encountered the wrong-way driver on I-80, “I had just finished my shift in Salt Lake County. I had just crossed over into Tooele County. I didn’t hear anything on the (police) radio at that time. I just noticed ahead of me cars moving to the right, and then this truck that was facing the wrong direction and then I realized it’s actually traveling at a pretty high rate of speed.”
The 12-year veteran relied on his training and immediately slowed his vehicle down to 15mph and prepared to hit the pickup truck at an angle.
Hitting the truck at an angle not only stopped the vehicle, but avoided a direct head-on collision and serious injury.
“We often talk about playing the ‘What if?’ game. What if this or that were to happen to you? Because we know in those situations where we only have seconds to act, we don’t have time to think things through,” he told KSL. “So I think a lot of the preparation happens before the moment that it happens. So in those few seconds it’s just more of a reflex than a long thought process.”
Even Gov. Spencer Cox praised McCoy for his swift action.
“This trooper had just finished his shift and was on his way home when he saw a car coming at him going the wrong way,” Gov. Spencer Cox tweeted Wednesday morning. “He knew he had one chance to protect the drivers behind him. Without hesitation he put his own life on the line. I’m grateful for heroes.”
Both McCoy and the other driver were transported to the hospital as a precaution. McCoy said that while he is sore he intends to return to work next week.
The 62-year-old pickup truck driver received minor injuries. The investigation into why he was driving the wrong way remains open. He has not been arrested or charged.
What a hero! If Trooper McCoy was not in the right place at the right time this could have turned into a fatal accident.
Thank you for risking your life in order to save others.
