GLOUCESTER, Va — Over the weekend, a Virginia State Police trooper used his vehicle to stop a wrong-way driver on I-64 and was hit head-on.
Michael LeSage says he allowed himself to be put in harm's way to protect the public from a potentially fatal crash.
On Saturday morning LeSage was on the lookout for a wrong-way driver traveling westbound on Interstate 64.
Newport News
Virginia State Trooper struck by wrong-way driver on I-64
While in the eastbound lane, he saw the vehicle heading towards him and had to make a quick decision.
"I knew I was going to have to strike him to stop him from hitting anybody else, so that's what I did, " said LeSage. "I positioned my car to strike his vehicle; just at the last second I offset my vehicle just enough to lessen the impact for both of us."
LeSage was hit head-on, but survived, walking away with barely a scratch, despite the other car hitting him at 70 mph.
"I don't recall anything but the jolt and then at that point I realized I survived and I was just trying to free myself from my car because I didn't know if it had caught fire," said LeSage. "I just wanted to get out of my car."
LeSage says he cut through the airbag and climbed out of the passenger door, then immediately went to check on the driver. Elijah Jones, 26, wasn't hurt, but police believe he was under the influence.
Watch previous coverage: Virginia State Trooper struck by wrong-way driver on I-64
"He asked me if I had struck him and if I was going the wrong direction," said LeSage.
Jones was arrested and charged with a DUI, maiming and open container. He was taken to the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail.
LeSage says stopping a vehicle wasn't part of his training, he learned it on the job and online.
"I learned from seeing other troopers do it," he said. "In recent memory, there is a trooper with Florida Highway Patrol that had done it, so I learned it from her video a little bit."
In the past two years, he's helped assist in two other wrong-way situations, but this was the first time he physically stopped one.
LeSage says he's counting his blessing that he came out of it alive and alright, saying, "I think that someone was looking out for me."
