A Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper is thanking his lucky stars after his patrol car was slammed into from behind during a traffic stop on Friday night. The WHP reports that both the trooper and the motorist he had stopped were unharmed.

Just before 6:30 p.m. the Trooper had stopped a vehicle reported as a possible REDDI (Report Every Drunk Driver Immediately) on the right shoulder and had his rear emergency lights on according to Sgt. Stephen Townsend of the WHP. While the Trooper was standing at the driver's door of the REDDI car, a second vehicle ran into the driver's side rear of the patrol car at an estimated 65 mph. Townsend says the impact caused the vehicle to careen out of control to the left of the stopped vehicles narrowly missing the Trooper and the vehicle he had stopped before going off the road to the right.

Nationally, 179 law enforcement officers who were stopped by the side of the highway have been fatally hit by passing drivers since 1999. The REDDI vehicle was not involved in the collision but Townsend reports that the other two vehicle sustained heavy damage. The Troopers 2009 Dodge Charger may be a total loss.

Authorities charged the driver of the second vehicle, 32 year-old Jeffrey A. Roberts from Rawlins, with driving while under the influence and possession of a controlled substance. The crash remains under investigation.

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