Cop Escapes 120 MPH Out-Of-Control Car at the Last Possible Moment

A 17-year-old kid in Fairfax, Virginia nearly killed a cop, another driver, and himself after losing control while going 50 miles over the speed limit on Monday, according to reports.

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In case you missed it:

Dashcam video shows officer nearly killed by speeding car in Fairfax County, Virginia

The Fairfax County Police officer had just pulled a 2012 BMW 750 driver over around noon on southbound Fairfax County Parkway for driving 73 mph in a 55 mph zone. That’s when the driver of another BMW, this time a 2018 M3, lost control, spun out, and crossed the median. The officer spotted the out-of-control vehicle just in time to avoid death or serious injury, the Washington Post reports:

“It’s just miraculous that we’re not talking under different circumstances,” Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said. “By all accounts, this should have resulted in much worse outcomes than it did, so thank God for that.”

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In the shocking footage captured by the police cruiser’s camera, the officer can be seen running away from the passenger side of the BMW he had pulled over, narrowly avoiding a severe hit. The careening car — which authorities say was traveling over 120 mph — collides with the vehicle that was pulled over, then runs into the officer.

“If he would have frozen … he likely would not have survived that impact,” Davis said. “He moved in the right place at the right time for that split second.”

Blakley said that everyone involved had “minor injuries.”

The officer and the driver of the vehicle he pulled over were taken to the hospital for treatment, Blakely said. The driver and two other teens in the BMW that crossed the centerline were not injured to the point of needing hospital care, Blakley said.

Police didn’t release the names of the drivers involved, but police did charge the teen driver with reckless driving. It’s a crime Fairfax Deputy Chief Bob Blakley told the Post is becoming more and more common:

Fairfax County has noted a 62 percent increase in citations to teen drivers for speeding compared with the same time last year; a 98 percent increase in citations for violating signs or signals; and a 181 percent increase in citations for failure to pay full attention, Blakley said. He also said that police believe that teen drivers were involved in three deaths of an overall eight killed in crashes so far this year.

“These are statistics we need to pay attention to,” Blakey said.

Another statistic we should pay attention to? Car crashes are one of the biggest killers of teens in the U.S. according to the Centers for Disease Control. Over 2,800 died in 2020 alone, with some 227,000 seriously injured. Of course, as excessive speeds contribute to one-fourth of fatalities in car crashes, there’s also an argument to be made that no passenger car on public roads should be able to hit 120 mph in the first place.