A Temple Terrace officer avoided serious injury Tuesday night in a Dade City wrong-way crash involving three vehicles.
According to Temple Terrace police, Officer William "Nick" Dittman was driving through Dade City just before 10 p.m. when the crash happened at the intersection of Clinton and Carmen avenues, which is just west of U.S. Highway 301.
Dittman, 31, was returning home from a firearms training class in Lakeland. He was traveling westbound when a Hyundai Sonata traveling eastbound on the wrong side of the road struck the front of his Chevrolet Tahoe cruiser.
According to police, 63-year-old Louise Valentine was driving the Hyundai.
Authorities said the force of the collision spun the woman's vehicle around, and it was struck by another car. The driver of the third car, 20-year-old college student Charity Cangro, was not injured.
Just before his Tahoe was hit, Dittman turned on his emergency lights to alert other drivers.
"I slammed on the brakes as hard as I could, but I didn't do it quite fast enough," Cangro said. "I remember watching her hit his car, seeing his car sort of give with the impact, then just watching the white car spin and come at me. It was intense. It was scary."
Despite being injured in the accident, Dittman rendered first aid at the scene, officials said.
"He was more concerned about my well being and the woman's well being and everyone around us," Cangro said. "He wanted to make sure everyone else was okay before taking care of himself."
The 63-year-old driver, who had to be extricated from her vehicle, was airlifted to a hospital where she's being treated for serious injuries.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, charges are pending, but alcohol is not suspected in the crash.
Valentines husband, Alvin, said he spoke to his wife and she has no idea what happened.
Dittman was treated for minor injuries at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa and later released.
The crash was the third wrong-way driving incident involving a Bay-area law enforcement officer in the past few weeks.
A Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputy was killed March 12 in a wrong-way crash on the Selmon Expressway. The funeral for Deputy John Kotfila is taking place Wednesday in Massachusetts.