What started out as a routine call for help at a traffic crash, turned out almost deadly for two Pasco deputies.
- Deputies Andrey Damian, Peter Knorr injured
- Crash that injured them caught on body cameras
- Both deputies will recover from injuries
The Pasco County Sheriff's Office released body cam video of a crash that injured the two deputies, who were rendering aid to people involved in another crash.
The incident happend around 1:17 p.m. on Aug. 29. at SR 52 and Hays Road. It was Deputy Andrey Damian's second day on the job.
"It happened so fast,” Deputy Andrey Damian said. “There was no way to avoid it."
Damian and Deputy Peter Knorr initially responded to an accident involved three Sedans. Officials said an eastbound sedan turned left into the path of a westbound sedan, causing both vehicles to collide and crash into a third sedan that was stopped at a red light.
After they arrived and began to render aid to the crash victims, an eastbound pickup truck turned left into the path of a westbound pickup truck and collided. The impact caused both trucks to collide into the first crash and the two deputies.
Damian said the truck missed him by about a foot, but the impact knocked Knorr and a witness to the first crash down.
"Peter actually flew backwards six feet probably, and the black car went towards me towards my feet, but I was fine,” Damian said. "He got hurt pretty bad, but all his attention was on her. He wasn’t complaining about this situation -- all his attention was on her."
The deputies were transported to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.
Sheriff Chris Nocco said he hopes this serves as a reminder to drivers to pay attention when they see accidents on the side of the road.
"We cringe when we see this video because we see how bad it could have been,” Nocco said. “We know it’s only seconds or inches away from fatalities of citizens and our own."
Portions of the intersection were closed for around two hours.
Here is the body cam video. Crash occurs toward end of video.