Every car brand suffers from one stereotype or another. BMWs? They’re often poked fun at for never using their turn signals and driving fast. As far as we can tell from this dashcam video from a Fairfax County, Virginia, police car, a certain BMW M3 was definitely speeding—and despite spinning out and crossing a grassy highway median, not one blinker on it was flashing.
All jokes aside, what happened next was deadly serious: The M3, which reportedly was being driven (well, crashed) by a 17-year-old at “well over 120 mph” spun toward a BMW 7 Series on the opposite shoulder that had been pulled over for, you guessed it, speeding.
Two cars colliding, especially when one is traveling at decent velocity, is one thing. But the officer who pulled over the 7 Series, and whose patrol car recorded this entire incident, was standing alongside the sedan as the M3 slid toward it. As you can see in the video below, the officer looks up at the last moment, sees the BMW M3 screeching his way, and bolts toward his patrol car, just as the M3 misses yet another BMW, a Z4 traveling in the 7 Series’ direction, and heads straight for the parked 7. (A few internet commenters have, of course, pointedly wondered why he wouldn’t simply jump over the ARMCO barrier, but hey, you have a car slide toward you at freeway speeds and see how many escape options you come up with in that split second.) As he moves past the 7 Series’ trunk, the M3 slams into the 7 and tumbles around the officer, seemingly grazing him and knocking him to the ground, but not seriously injuring him, before hitting the police car, too.
Witnessing the force with which the M3 strikes the larger 7 Series—enough to shove it into the aforementioned barrier and deform it with a roughly 7 Series-shaped dent—it’s a miracle the cop is alive, much less able to get up and hop away, all while continuing to do his job. He immediately radios for help and goes to check on the 7 Series driver. While we’re not certain how the Fairfax County police department determined the M3 had been traveling in excess of 120 mph, as claimed in the NBC7 Washington report, it was clearly moving with a hurry before spinning on a gentle curve and hurtling toward the cop and other BMW.
In what is perhaps the understatement of the year, the Fairfax police mention how “Parents and guardians should consider using this video as an opportunity to have a conversation with their teen drivers about how their driving behavior can affect the lives of others.”
A few things to note here. First, the M3 driver was obviously reckless. He was cited for as much with a reckless driving ticket. Second, the officer’s position on the right side of the 7 Series he had pulled over likely saved his life. We should mention that this is a good example of why, if or when you’re ever pulled over on a freeway, moving as far over away from the road is helpful for the officers. Ditto if you need to pull over for any other reason, be it a flat tire or car trouble.
Both BMW drivers (and the M3’s passengers) received only minor injuries. But can we just sit back for a moment and revel in this story’s absurd on-the-nose-ness? Speeding BMW hits another BMW that had been pulled over for speeding (apparently going 73 in a 50-mph zone)? C’mon, Fairfax County BMW drivers.
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