(KRON) — An alert California Highway Patrol officer narrowly avoided being struck by a distracted driver who collided with the back of a stopped patrol vehicle last week in San Mateo, authorities said Monday. The driver allegedly told CHP that he was watching YouTube videos and didn’t see the road flares or the patrol vehicle lights.
The collision, which was caught on officer-worn body camera video (watch above), occurred on the night of March 3 while officers responded to a three-vehicle crash on northbound Highway 101. CHP was working to clear the crash and had set up flares in the closed right lanes. Seconds after a CHP officer noticed a white truck entering the flare pattern and moved out of the way, the truck slammed into the back of a patrol car.
The driver of the truck was uninjured in the crash, according to the authorities.
“Thankfully our officers had great officer safety awareness and were watching oncoming traffic!” CHP said…