NoVa trooper escapes serious injury after being struck during traffic stop

SPRINGFIELD, VA (CITY NOW) – State Police say one of their troopers from Northern Virginia escaped serious injury during a traffic stop on I-495 when a female DUI driver crashed into the back of his patrol car and partially rolled the car into the trooper. State police, who posted dashcam video on social media, said that “surprisingly, Trooper C. Aziz did not have any broken bones” but was beaten by his vehicle when it emerged under the impact of the rear-end collision. around 3 Tuesday morning.

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Trooper Aziz had been dispatched to a vehicle that was reportedly stopped in a northbound 495 lane that morning, near exit 52 in Fairfax County. The driver of the sedan was still in the vehicle and was uncooperative because the officer was outside near the subjects’ driver’s side door. While Officer Aziz was attempting to arrest the individual, a Jeep Cherokee struck a semi-trailer which had stopped due to the sedan closing the lane. The impact of that crash caused the Jeep to turn around and strike the trooper’s patrol car, which then struck the sedan, which then struck the trooper.
The driver of the sedan, Erica D. Bernard, 43, of Albright, West Virginia, who was still seated inside the vehicle when it was struck, was also treated for minor injuries sustained in the accident. Bernard was charged with driving under the influence of drugs, obstruction, possession of a Schedule I or II substance, refusing a blood/breathalyzer test and improperly stopping a vehicle on a highway .
The driver of the Jeep Cherokee, Joanna F. Hatch, 35, of Arlington, Virginia, was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.