Driver nearly hits cop, smashes into police cruiser on Ohio highway

An out-of-control driver nearly ran over a cop on the side of an icy highway in Ohio on Christmas Day before slamming into a police cruiser.

The terrifying moment, caught on the cruiser’s dashcam footage, occurred during slick conditions on Ohio State Route 2 around 11:15 a.m., according to local reports.

After the Willoughby cop responded to a single-car crash, he was seen standing on the shoulder of highway watching oncoming traffic when he suddenly sprinted away from the road and hopped onto the center median, according to the footage obtained by Cleveland 19 shows.

Seconds later, a Toyota Tundra came barreling towards him and smashed into the rear passenger side of the police cruiser parked on the shoulder.

A large bang can be heard in the video as the pickup truck made impact, sending car parts flying into the air.

The truck “fishtailed” and spun multiple times as it veered back into the center of the roadway before pulling over to the shoulder several feet in front of the officer, according to the footage and incident report.

The officer radioed that his cruiser had been “smashed” and requested another unit before adding that he was unharmed in the video.

“No injuries with me, I’ll check on the driver,” he said into his police radio and then shouted at passing car to slow down.

The 63-year-old driver was not injured, though the police car suffered “disabling damage,” according to the crash report.

Police believe icy conditions were a factor in both the initial single-car crash and the Toyota’s collision into the police cruiser.

Several residents commented on a Willoughby Police Department post about the crash that State Route 2 was covered with a sheet of ice Christmas day.

“We passed that white car minutes prior to this,” one resident said. “It was a sheet of black ice there!”

Others wrote that cars were “spun out everywhere” due to the slick roadbed and that “people were flying” despite the dangerous conditions.

“Route 2 was still sheets of ice in places on Christmas,” another driver wrote. “I got off freeway because it was so bad.”

The driver was ticketed for failure to control and issued a court date, Cleveland 19 reported.