Police dashcam video shows car slamming head-on into tow truck

FAIRVIEW, Ohio — Police dashcam video shows a car slamming head-on into a tow truck stopped on a road in Ohio. The crash sent two people to the hospital.

Fairview Park police called for a tow truck to impound a car. They say the driver didn't have a valid license. As the tow truck driver walked to the car's passenger side, police dashcam video shows what that driver didn't see: headlights veering right toward the tow truck.

It's not clear why the oncoming driver crossed the road and slammed head-on into the tow truck, but the impact trapped the tow truck driver under the bed of his own truck. The driver who hit him was also trapped in the mangled wreckage of a 2017 Acura. The Acura driver was seriously injured and had to be cut out of his car and then rushed to the hospital.

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"I can tell you from what I saw from the video, it did not appear like it was braking when it struck the truck," Lt. Paul Shepard of the Fairview Park police told WEWS.

Investigators still aren't sure how fast the car was going. "Right now we're trying to determine whether alcohol or any other drug of abuse was involved. That's going to take time," said Shepard.

Investigators aren't releasing the name of the Acura driver, only that he's 35 and from Cleveland.

The 53-year-old tow truck driver is a familiar face to Fairview Park police. He underwent surgery on his crushed leg Monday morning.
"It's like a family. So we get to see them a lot over and over again so it's still... Here they were out to help us and this accident happened. So it does have an effect and we're praying for his safe and quick recovery," said Shepard.

Police say this is a reminder for drivers to slow down and pay extra attention any time they see flashing lights.

CNN/WEWS