A shocking dashcam video has been released showing an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper apparently not slowing down at all before slamming his cruiser into a motorcycle, seriously injuring the couple who was riding it. The motorcycle accident occurred on Aug. 17 on westbound U.S. 35, but the video was not immediately released because the Greene County prosecutor wanted a grand jury to see it before the public.
The Beavercreek couple was riding along that night when the state trooper directly rear-ended the motorcycle, apparently without taking any evasive action. The couple was thrown from the motorcycle and severely injured.
The wife had to be airlifted to Miami Valley Hospital, where her husband arrived later by ambulance. A follow up interview by WDTN 2 News in Dayton found that the husband may have broken bones, and the wife has a concussion despite wearing a helmet. Both say that they likely would not have survived the motorcycle accident if they hadn’t been wearing helmets.
The day after the accident, they also said publicly that they forgive the trooper.
After the collision, the dashcam video shows, the trooper stopped his cruiser, backed up, and used the car to block the lane where the crashed cycle and injured people lay. He can be heard asking if they are hurt.
When the video wasn’t released immediately as is expected in newsworthy cases, WDTN obtained a court order for its release. Previously, the Greene County prosecutor had called it “evidence in a criminal investigation” and wouldn’t release it without a court order.
More easily obtained, apparently, were the trooper’s personnel records. Those records show that the trooper has never faced disciplinary action — and in fact was Trooper of the Year for the Xenia Post in 2012. He remains on the job until the highway patrol’s investigation is complete.
WDTN asked the trooper for a comment on the motorcycle accident, but he replied that he had been advised by an attorney not to comment.
Source: WDTN 2 News Dayton, “WDTN 2 NEWS obtains video of trooper crash,” Sept. 9, 2013