By Police1 Staff
SPRING, Texas — Dash cam video captured an officer’s heroic actions during the pursuit of a wrong-way driver with children in his car.
ABC-7 reports police responded to a call of a wrong-way driver Friday on the I-45 freeway.
Shenandoah Police Sgt. Gary Sharpen drove his cruiser to the front of traffic to protect other drivers. It was then that the suspect, Jose Zavalija, closed in on Sharpen and he prepared for impact, KHOU reported.
Click2Houston reports the vehicle was traveling at speeds approaching 100 mph.
“The only thing I could do was protect the people behind me. And I figured I was going to have to take one for the team. I grabbed my seat belt and held it tight and I knew that hopefully the lord was going to watch out for me,” Sharpen told KHOU.
As seen in the dash cam, Zavalija grinds to a halt moments before impact and speeds away in the opposite direction.
Police pursued Zavalija for several minutes before managing to stop him.
Officers discovered two children, ages 18 months and 4 years old, in Zavalija’s vehicle after stopping him.
Zavalija was arrested and charged with DWI, evading arrest and reckless endangerment.
“If I’m put in that position again, I think I’ll do the same,” Officer Sharpen told ABC-7.