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Video shows distracted driver striking New Hope squad

The video shows a New Hope squad driving forward through a green light. Another car then runs the red light at the same intersection and broadsides the squad.

NEW HOPE, Minn. - A dramatic video released on Tuesday shows a New Hope squad being broadsided by a distracted driver.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety released the video on Tuesday, offering it as "a reminder of how dangerous it is to take your eyes off the road."

The video shows a New Hope squad driving forward through a green light on Aug. 6. Another car then runs the red light at the same intersection and broadsides the squad. The woman told officers she was grabbing a drink in her vehicle at the time of the crash. Officials say she was cited for failing to stop at a red light.

Officer Tony Gust, the driver of the squad, said Tuesday it was shocking to see the video and watch a very scary situation from a different perspective.

"It still gets me every time, seeing that," he said. "It's such a blur that you don't really realize the severity of what happened."

Gust said the moment happened so fast, it was mostly just a blur.

"Watching that video, when you're actually in the accident itself, everything obviously, as you can imagine, goes by so quickly," he said.

Miraculously, Gust said neither he, nor the other driver, suffered injuries from the crash, besides some swelling and soreness.

The Minnesota DPS says one in five crashes in Minnesota over the last five years have been distracted driving-related. In those five years, seven people have died and more than 2,000 have been injured in Dakota County due to distracted driving.

"A driver can be doing everything right, but if those around them aren’t paying attention, there can be serious consequences," the DPS wrote in a press release.

The Dakota County Sheriff's Office and other agencies in the county will be conducting extra distracted driving patrols from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 10, to remind drivers to put the phones down.

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