A Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputy narrowly escaped serious injury on Monday during a traffic stop on I-75 in the southbound lane.  Sgt. Scott Wellinger of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department had stopped a vehicle traveling southbound on I-75 when the truck driver, Jose Serrano clipped the rear end of the patrol car.  The sergeant was sitting in his 2006 Chevrolet Impali in the emergency lane with the emergency lights and strobes activated when a tractor-trailer failed to slow down and move over and drifted off the road. The truck's rear wheels clipped Wellinger's slightly ajar driver's door. The door was crumpled and peeled back into the front wheel well.  Serrano claimed he could not move over due to traffic.  However, an investigation found that he was travelling 60 mph at the time and failed to slow down which is required by law if the vehicle is not able to move away from the patrol car.  Fortunately, the officer was not seriously injured. 

The Move Over law was enacted in Florida in 2002 to prevent such accidents and ensure the safety of law enforcement officers who correctly believe they are in grave danger during such traffic stops.  The media regularly reports officers being injured in the Tampa Bay area during such traffic stops.  There is no doubt that some roadways in the Tampa Bay area such as US 19 in PInellas County are particularly hazardous.  That's no excuse for motorists to ignore the move over law.