A Phoenix police officer is being praised for helping save two people.
Sergeant-in-Training David Hough was standing by a vehicle tow near Greenway Parkway and 3th Street on Saturday evening when a white Toyota Yaris crossed over the center median and drove into oncoming traffic, a police spokesperson said.
The car hit two other vehicles before driving towards the officer and the tow truck driver, police said. Hough shoved the tow truck driver out of the way and prevented the pair from being struck by the two-door hatchback.
"It was all within a matter of two seconds," Hough said. “We were standing right at the rear tires of the tow truck. The vehicle is coming right at us, so I pushed the tow truck driver out of the way. Then, I used the bed of the truck and jumped. The vehicle hit right underneath me.”
The car then hit the tow truck where both the officer and tow truck driver were standing just moments before.
Despite suffering a minor injury, the sergeant ran to the other drivers involved in the collision and gave first aid to the driver of the Yaris, who may have suffered from a medical injury when the accidents occurred, a police spokesperson said.
"I go over to the driver of the white car; I'm shaking him, trying to get a pulse and shaking him, screaming at him, trying to get anything out of him and all of a sudden he gasps for air," Hough said.
The driver was taken to the hospital and remains in extremely critical condition. Hough was also taken to the hospital for a non-life-threatening injury.
Hough, a nine year veteran of the department, is an officer undergoing training to become a sergeant.
