GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Coworkers say a Gwinnett County sheriff's deputy is lucky to be alive after he was struck on the interstate earlier this week.
Authorities say the driver who hit him was drunk and texting at the same time.
Gwinnett County Sheriff's Deputy Thomas Tharp was parked in between the I-85 southbound lanes and Steve Reynolds on-ramp when his car was hit Monday night.
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Another deputy’s dashcam recorded as he called for help: "Radio, I'm not sure, I'm trying to see if he's injured. We've got airbags deployed!"
The arriving deputy yelled for his colleague, "Tharp, Tharp!"
Tharp was fine, just stuck in the damaged car.
"I don't think you are going to be able to get that door open. How do you feel? Just stay in the car, man!" a deputy can be heard telling Tharp.
"Surprisingly and thankfully he was not injured.
He sustained a small injury to his elbow, that was it," said department spokeswoman Dep. Shannon Volkodav on Thursday. "We are extremely thankful that he wasn’t severely injured. This could have had disastrous effects. Thank goodness, the deputy had his seat belt on so he was secure. Had he not had his seat belt on, he could have easily been forced through the windshield."
In the video, viewers can see the airbags deployed in the SUV that struck the deputy’s car, but authorities say neither the driver, 33-year-old Arnoldo Mendez Escobar, nor any of his three passengers were hurt.
"My understanding is the driver said at the scene that he was texting," Volkodav said.
The Georgia State Patrol charged Mendez Escobar with unlawful use of a telecom and with drunken driving.
He was released to ICE custody and is waiting to be deported.
"Tharp's OK. He is sitting in the car," relieved deputies told arriving first responders as they pulled up on the scene.
Officials said Tharp may not have survived if he was in a normal car, but the fact that deputy’s vehicles are reinforced helped him.
Tharp reportedly took one day off for his injuries and is back on the job.
Cox Media Group
