By Joanna Putman
Police1
LEE COUNTY, Fla. — A driver watching a movie on his phone caused a serious crash involving three deputies’ vehicles, WFTX reported.
Deputies were responding to a separate crash with injuries on Nov. 17 when the crash occurred, according to the report.
The driver was traveling southbound at high speed when he failed to slow down or exit onto an off-ramp, despite flares and emergency lights marking a lane closure, according to the report. The vehicle struck Lee County Deputy Jonathan Kosar-Heiser’s patrol car, causing it to spin and crash into two other patrol cars. The driver was trapped in his vehicle and had to be rescued by Deputy Christian Greene, who observed a movie playing on the driver’s phone at the time of the crash.
Bodycam footage of the incident’s aftermath shows officers cutting airbags to free injured colleagues.
“My right arm is probably broken,” one officer can be heard saying.
Both the driver and Kosar-Heiser were transported to Gulf Coast Medical Center as trauma alert patients, according to the report. The driver sustained life-threatening injuries, while Kosar-Heiser’s condition has not been detailed.
Investigators have indicated that the movie playing on the driver’s phone was likely a contributing factor to the crash. The driver tested negative for alcohol and drugs but has been determined to be at fault for the accident.
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