Rowlett officer rescues suspected drunk driver who crashed into his squad car
Officer rescues suspected drunk driver after wreck
Rowlett police say an injured officer whose squad car was hit by a suspected drunk driver managed to rescue that driver from his fiery vehicle. "Instead of doing a self-evaluation of his injuries, he doesn't think twice; his law enforcement instinct kicks in."
ROWLETT, Texas - Rowlett police say an injured officer whose squad car was hit by a suspected drunk driver managed to rescue that driver from his fiery vehicle.
Rowlett police were helping with traffic after a separate, dangerous incident on the same road.
The other investigation involves a police chase that started in Garland and ended in neighboring Rowlett.
Rowlett officer pulls driver from burning car | RAW
Body camera video released by the Rowlett Police Department shows an officer pulling a suspected drunken driver from a burning car after that driver had just rammed his car. Both the officer and the driver were taken to the hospital with injuries.
What Happened:
The crash happened on the shoulder of Interstate 30 in Rowlett early Thursday.
Video from another responding officer shows Rowlett Police Officer Issac Gorskikh shattering the window of a locked and burning car to rescue the unresponsive driver.
"Not only does he get him out of the fiery vehicle, but he also drags him out and away from the danger," said Rowlett Police Cpl. Jaqueline Vergara.
Gorskikh then lifted the man over a concrete barrier to protect them from traffic flying by.
The twist of irony?
According to police, the man Gorskikh was saving was the driver who crashed into his squad car.
Investigators say 33-year-old Lyn Alan Smith was under the influence and rammed into the back of Gorskikh’s patrol car, injuring him.
"The officer immediately after being struck, exits his squad unit. And instead of doing a self-evaluation of his injuries, he doesn't think twice; his law enforcement instinct kicks in."
At the time, Gorskikh was assisting with a different call.
The Garland Investigation
The other side:
Hours earlier, police in nearby Garland tried pulling a car over for driving erratically. A chase ensued eastbound over the Lake Ray Hubbard Bridge.
"The vehicle started slowing down from a high rate of speed to the speeds of between 5-10 miles an hour and weaving across all lanes of traffic," said Garland Police Lt. Pedro Barineau.
Garland police say the driver unexpectedly leaped out of the moving car.
"The vehicle actually went on and hit a barrier, where it stopped," said Barineau. "But the suspect jumped the barrier and continued running in a construction area."
Police say the man, 30-year-old Jose Andrew Ybarra, then jumped into Lake Ray Hubbard.
Search and rescue teams were deployed, but Ybarra did not survive. His body was later recovered from the water.
Dig deeper:
Officer Gorskikh was eventually taken to the hospital, where he was treated and released.
The 28-year-old Army veteran has been on patrol with Rowlett PD for two months. He had just been transferred from the Dallas Police Department.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Rowlett Police Department and Garland Police Department.