Officer Suffers Minor Injury Pulling Man Out of Path of Moving Vehicle

A Texarkana Texas Police Officer was slightly injured after pulling a man from the path of his moving vehicle earlier yesterday (12/21).
Officer Warren Smith responded to the report of a hit and run accident in an apartment complex parking lot in the 3500 block of South Lake Drive at approximately 9:40AM Monday, Dec. 21, 2015. Upon his arrival, he discovered that two unoccupied parked vehicles in the parking lot had been struck, and he then located a Chevrolet pickup truck driven by Ronnie Bennett, 72, of Texarkana, Texas near the Leopard Drive entrance to the complex.

As Smith spoke with Bennett, he determined that Bennett’s vehicle had struck the two parked vehicles and concluded that it was not safe for him to drive. Smith allowed Bennett to retrieve his cellular phone from his truck to contact a relative to come pick him up. However, he decided to move his vehicle to another location before Smith was able to prevent it. When Bennett stopped and tried to exit his vehicle, he failed to put it safely out of gear. As he stepped from the still running vehicle, it started to roll backwards toward him. Smith was able to push Bennett from the path of the moving vehicle and then get it stopped after it struck Smith’s patrol unit. Smith suffered minor injuries and was transported to Wadley Regional Medical Center, where he was treated and later released to return to duty. Bennett was not injured.

Officers believe that Bennett was under the influence of prescription medication. He was arrested for Driving Under the Influence and transported to the Bi-State Jail.