Viral video shows Georgia car flying 120 feet through the air after hitting tow-truck ramp



A driver found an unlikely ramp to ruin and significant airtime last week when speeding along Georgia's Highway 38.

Lowndes County sheriff's deputies and other first responders were dealing with a previous traffic accident and drug bust near Valdosta on May 24. Multiple law enforcement and emergency vehicles were crewed on one side of the grassy median. A tow truck idled on the far side of the median with its flat bed sloped.

At 11:26 a.m., a car speeding up the inside lane hit the tow truck's flatbed, cleared the truck, and went flying.

WSB-TV reported that the car, which rolled as it advanced through the air, hit a cruising altitude of 120 feet.

The sheriff's deputy whose body camera caught it all on tape shouted, "G**damn," as the driver unwittingly pulled off a feat some amateur daredevils might only have fantasized about.

The deputy also invoked "code 10-51" over the radio, which is a summons for another tow truck. After all, the apparent duchess of Hazzard behind the wheel — whom WGXA-TV indicated was a 21-year-old woman from Tallahassee, Florida — failed to stick the landing.

The car turned projectile reportedly crashed into the rear of another car, then traveled another 23 feet before coming to a halt.

Distracted Florida Driver Launches Car Off Tow Truck Ramp at High Speed on Highway youtu.be

"That is definitely not something we see every day as Georgia state troopers," Lt. Crystal Zion told WGXA.
It is presently unclear whether the driver will face any charges.
"The crash is still under investigation," said Zion. "But all we're worried about is that she heals and that she gets better."

The female driver survived the accident with serious injuries and is in stable condition.

Fox News Digital indicated that one LCSO deputy was also taken to local hospital after being struck by debris ejected during the accident. The deputy was released the same day.

Deputies told WAGA-TV that the accident demonstrated why the public should heed Georgia's Move Over Law, which says, "motorists traveling in the lane adjacent to the shoulder must move over one lane when emergency and utility vehicles are stopped on the side of the highway and operating in an official capacity."

"Move over. Slow down. Be careful," stressed Zion. "Try to get rid of all the distractions. Anything that might keep you from getting home safely. Because in the end, that's what we're all aiming for, is for everyone to make it to their destination safely."

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Off-duty Florida firefighter on way to son's soccer practice saves deputy from fiery wreck: 'This is what we do'



An off-duty Florida firefighter may have been late in getting his son to soccer practice Saturday morning, but he was right on time when it came to saving the life of a 33-year-old Seminole County deputy.

The Seminole County Sheriff's Office indicated that Deputy Matthew Luxon suffered a medical emergency around 10:30 a.m. near Orange Boulevard and Wayside Drive in Sanford, Florida, where he then crashed into a concrete pillar.

The medical incident and the resultant crash may have been the beginning of Luxon's problems, but they certainly weren't the last. His patrol car caught fire and quickly became an inferno.

Lt. Benjamin Wootson of the Orlando Fire Department happened to be in the neighborhood, rushing his son to soccer practice.

The off-duty firefighter told WFTV, "We were running late getting to my son’s soccer practice. ... Typically, we try to get there 30, 45 minutes early so they can do the warm-up. My son was dragging his feet, taking his time. As we were turning left onto Orange, I noticed a patrol car coming toward us."

Wootson noted he has a "habit of always looking in my mirrors."

Sure enough, when he checked his rearview, he saw Luxon's patrol vehicle hammer the overpass support.

"I immediately pulled a U-turn at the next intersection and rushed back," said Wootson. "By the time i got on scene, there was a little bit of flames on the underneath of the vehicle, the engine compartment was already on fire."

Wootson told WOFL-TV, "As I was pulling him out there were probably two golf ball-size flames where his legs were."

Wootson managed to get the disoriented deputy out of his seatbelt and ultimately out of the blaze. No sooner had the firefighter disentangled Luxon from the wreck than the patrol vehicle burst into flames, along with the ammunition in the trunk.

As bullets sounded off and the fire burned, Wootson used the deputy's radio to call for "an officer down scenario."

While he tended to Luxon, Wootson's neighbor arrived on the scene to tend to the firefighter's son. Another onlooker moved the firefighter's car to get clear of the heated display.

Image composites consists of Seminole County Sheriff's Office photos

The SCSO indicated that Luxon was taken to a local hospital where he underwent successful surgeries and was stabilized.

According to WFTV, the deputy is still in the hospital.

Sheriff Dennis Lemma said in a statement Sunday, "Matt had successful surgeries into the late hours on Saturday but make no mistake; he has a long road to recovery ahead of him. The support of our Seminole County, and the greater Central Florida community, will help Matt pull through now and into the immediate future."

One of Luxon's coworkers started a fundraiser for the injured deputy and his family, which has already secured in excess of $22,000.

As for Wootson's heroics, Sheriff Lemma said, "I also spoke with Orlando Fire Department Lieutenant Benjamin Wootson, who heroically rescued Matt from his patrol unit moments after his crash and just before the unit caught fire. Lt. Wootson, who was off duty and also very kind when we spoke, simply reminded me that 'this is what we do.'"

Lemma added, "I thank God that he was there at that time, and I expressed my gratitude and shared commendation to OFD Chief Charlie Salazar as well."

Wootson reckons his delay and his son's apparent tardiness Saturday morning were providential: "God put me in a place where [my son and I] were running late on purpose. I was in the right place at the right time to save an individual."

The firefighter emphasized to WESH-TV, "If you're ever in a circumstance and you see something, don't just sit back and watch. Get out, do what's right, make a change because those little things could be a long impact lasting, it could be generational changes."

Off-duty firefighter saves Seminole County deputy from burning car youtu.be

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Bound and brutalized kidnapping victim seen climbing out of trunk of car wreck in Seattle



A 63-year-old man's car was stolen and wrecked in northeastern Seattle last week. Even more troubling was that he was beaten, bound, and placed in the trunk first.

Police received multiple reports of a collision in the Ravenna neighborhood early Thursday morning after a vehicle careened into a residence in the 7200 block of 27th Avenue NE.

Seattle Police Officer Judinna Gulpan indicated that witnesses observed a man climbing out of the trunk of the vehicle, which suspects had driven into the home of Brooks Mierow.

Mierow noticed the wreck begin smoking shortly after the crash. Upon seeing the fire responsible for the smoke spread to his home, Mierow evacuated the location, reported KING-TV.

"I got my kids to get their shoes and coats on and get out of the house, I got the dog, and then fired another fire extinguisher into it," said Mierow.

The homeowner's fire retardant proved helpful, containing the flames until the Seattle Fire Department arrived on the scene and extinguished the blaze.

As the Mierows moved to get clear of an inferno firefighters ensured never came to be, they heard the anguished sounds of someone near or inside the wreck.

"Then we heard a screaming of ahh, ahh. I think he was trying to scream for help," neighbor Cheng Yu told KING.

Yu indicated that the accident had been heralded by "the most sickening crunch."

Raegan McKibbon, a local resident who saw two suspects bail out of the vehicle after the crash, helped the victim across the street and out of harm's way.

McKibbon noted that she found the victim "sitting outside, kind of by the trunk of his car, and he was all tied up with rope and he was screaming 'help me, help me, I've just been kidnapped, call 911.'"

"He was beat up pretty bad," said McKibbon. "They had cut his face with a knife and had beat him up pretty badly."

The 63-year-old victim indicated he had been assaulted by several suspects before being tied up and jammed into the trunk of his own car.

The victim was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and taken to Harborview Medical Center.

Police indicated that an 18-year-old male who matched the description of a possible suspect was detained, questioned, and released. There have yet to be any arrests.

"You can't make this stuff up, it's so absurd," said Yu.

According to police, as of February 28, the Ravenna neighborhood of Seattle had so far this year already seen three rapes, five robberies, 13 aggravated assaults, 54 burglaries, and 42 motor vehicle thefts.

Seattle, more broadly, has seen 710 violent crimes in the first two months of 2023, including eight homicides and 54 rapes, along with 233 robberies and 1,134 motor vehicle thefts.

Neighborhood Scout ranks Democrat-run Seattle as among the unsafest cities in the U.S., scoring it a 1 out of 100 (100 being safest) on its crime index.

The city saw its highest violent crime rate in 15 years in 2022, reported the Seattle Times. Compounding the problem is policing manpower. The Seattle Police Department has lost around 525 officers since 2020, when the City Council decided to drastically slash the police budget.

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