LAS VEGAS — Scary moments for a Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper caught on dash cam.
He had stopped a driver for speeding when a nearby truck lost control, causing thousands of bottles of beer to spill on him.
Just before the incident Trooper Travis Smaka can be heard asking the driver, “You guys have anything to drink tonight?”
The driver can be heard telling Smaka he has not been drinking.
“Just as I ask the question, I hear the sound that always gets the hairs on my neck standing up, of brakes locking up,” explained Smaka.
Moments later, a beer truck, barreling down the road, loses its load.
Trooper Smaka and the driver are pelted with beer bottles and cans.
“Well, over 1,000 pounds of beer shattering and a tidal wave of beer coming at me,” noted Smaka.
Smaka and the driver dodge the load. Luckily, they didn’t have to dodge the truck itself.
“When you watch the video, it is a little amusing but at the same time, sends a serious reminder of what happens on the freeway when people do cut in front of semis,” said Trooper Jason Buratczuk.
Troopers are on a mission to protect you from making the same dangerous mistake when you drive.
They are riding shotgun in big rigs this week. They are on the lookout for drivers behaving badly.
“Tailgating, unsafe lane changes,” explained Buratczuk.
An 18-wheeler is about 80,000 pounds rolling down the road.
“They’re so heavy. They’re so large. They take so long to stop,” said Buratczuk.
Troopers will be on the lookout and handing out tickets to avoid another big party foul on the highway.
“That was one of the funny things I was thinking about afterwards. I just picked up my uniform at the dry cleaners and then I was soaked head to toe in beer!” said Smaka.
It turns out the driver pulled over in the dash cam video wasn’t drunk.
He was going to get a speeding ticket but Smaka let him go after his car was pelted with beer bottles and cans.
