Dash cam captures deputy’s heroic rescue after Florida crash
HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – An SUV in Brooksville crosses an intersection and gets slammed by a PT Cruiser. The SUV rolls over and over and over again until it comes to a stop on its passenger side. Scary, right?!
The terrifying incident was all caught on a dash cam belonging to Brooksville Detective Tracey Schofield.
“The detectives don’t have cameras in their cars but because of the nature of this business, I bought my own camera and put it on there,” said Schofield.
Schofield was on his way home from the gym when the crash occurred in front of him at the intersection of Cortez Blvd. and Buck Hope Rd.
Instinctively, Detective Schofield stopped his cruiser, jumped out of the car and ran to the aid of the 74-year-old driver.
“She was screaming obviously…in pain, and she’s asking for help,” he remembered.
Schofield leaped on top of the overturned vehicle and got into a safe position where he was able to reach in and assist the female driver who was tangled and dangling from her seatbelt.
“The vehicle was resting on its passenger side so she was trapped in her vehicle hanging on the steering wheel trying to keep the weight off, so what I did, I was able to partially climb in thru the broken window, get my left arm up underneath her body, and then wrap my right arm up around her head.”
A Hernando County Deputy arrived at the scene, smashed out the windshield and got in position underneath the elderly driver.
“He actually climbed in underneath her so if I couldn’t hold her anymore he was there to support her as well,” Schofield said.
Detective Schofield says no matter how long it took, he wasn’t about to give up on rescuing the woman.
“At that point her and I were very close friends. Immediately! It was like my grandmother in that vehicle and we spent about 25 minutes in that vehicle holding each other until the fire department cut the car open and able to get her out.”
We’re told the driver of the SUV is recovering from several broken ribs, cuts and bruises. The driver of the PT Cruiser was cited for careless driving.