ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. — An Alachua County deputy is being hailed as a hero for what he did in the late-night hours Monday on U.S. Highway 301.
A driver was experiencing a medical emergency and was driving on the wrong side of the road posing a threat to other drivers, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Office social media post states.
The sheriff’s office received multiple calls from people reporting a small truck traveling southbound in the northbound lanes. The concerned callers said it appeared the vehicle had already been in a collision, the post states.
Deputies located the vehicle driving in the 2000 block of SE U.S. Highway 301, where it continued traveling in the wrong direction, the post states.
In an effort to stop the vehicle and steer the driver toward the center grass median, Deputy J. Upshaw positioned his patrol car in the middle of the highway with emergency lights activated and the truck struck the driver’s side of the deputies vehicle. The truck continued “recklessly southbound, posing a grave threat to others on the road,” the sheriff’s office social media post states.
“Recognizing the urgent need to prevent a head-on collision, Sgt. E. Bright positioned his patrol vehicle directly in the path of the oncoming truck,” the post states. “The truck collided with Sgt. Bright’s vehicle, effectively bringing it to a stop.”
The truck caught fire and the deputies pulled the driver to safety before the truck became fully engulfed in flames, the social media post states.
“Sheriff Chad Scott and the entire Command Staff of the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office commend DS J. Upshaw and Sgt. E. Bright for their courageous actions and selfless bravery in putting themselves directly in harm’s way to protect countless lives,” the social media post states.
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