Brick Police Officer Escapes Injury As Car Fails To Move Over

BRICK, NJ — A Brick Township police officer escaped injury on Sunday when his patrol vehicle was hit on Route 70 by a car that failed to slow down and move over as the officer was pulling someone over, Brick police said.

The body camera of the officer captured the incident —the video can be seen on the department's Facebook page. You can see the officer slowing down as he pulls over a car. As he puts his patrol vehicle in park, the audio comes on and a second or two later, there's a loud bang and the video shakes hard.

"My vehicle has been hit," Officer Williams says to the communications officer listening on the other end. "I'm OK," he says, and repeats that to a passerby who witnessed the crash.

The crash, which immobilized his patrol vehicle, came less than a week after Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law strengthening New Jersey's "Move Over" Law. The law requires motorists to move over a full lane away from any emergency vehicle on the side of the road with its emergency lights flashing. If there's not enough room to move over, motorists are supposed to slow down below the speed limit and be prepared to stop if necessary.

The law was passed in 2009 but following the 2010 death of State Trooper Marc Castellano of Howell, there has been a concerted effort by his mother, Donna Setaro, to raise awareness of its existence. Castellano was hit along Route 195 while taking part in an investigation along the side of the road by a driver who failed to move away from the stopped vehicles.

Setaro's campaign has been presented to more than 100,000 people, many of them young, first-time drivers. She also campaigned for stronger penalties for repeat offenders. (READ MORE: Trooper's Mom Reaches Move Over Milestone At Howell Presentation)

There have been two other incidents in the last 18 months where Brick Township police officers were hit by vehicles that failed to move over. In September 2018, a woman was charged with violating the Move Over Law after hitting a patrol car that was pulled over during a crash investigation. In December 2018, a driver was charged with driving while impaired after hitting a patrol car while the officer was conducting a motor vehicle stop. The police officers in both crashes were treated at the hospital and released.

"Too many emergency personnel get injured or killed while on the side of the road by inattentive drivers," Brick police said in the post sharing the video.

The Move Over Law applies to any emergency vehicle, along with tow trucks or highway maintenance trucks, and any emergency or sanitation service vehicle that has its flashing, blinking or alternating emergency lights on.

"Thankfully, despite the extensive damage to the police cruiser, Officer Williams is OK," police said.

The driver stopped after the collision and was issued a summons for violating the Move Over Law, police said; the charge is improper passing of an emergency vehicle.

"Please keep our emergency workers safe," police said. "If you see an emergency vehicle with its lights activate on the side of the road and you fail to move over or significantly slow down as you pass safely, you will received a summons, and even worse, you might seriously hurt someone."

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