Trooper Injured In Auto-Ped Crash Back On The Job

An Oklahoma state trooper is back on the job after he was hit by an SUV last January, and the whole thing was caught on camera.

The video showed the exact moment trooper Jason Richardson almost lost his life. 

"I remember seeing the sunroof of the vehicle that hit me, and, of course, I’m not going to lie and say I thought,” Richardson said. “I didn't think much. I just knew I had to move."

The driver lost control on black ice on Interstate 40. 

The impact sent Richardson into the road. 

Since then, he’s been on the road to recovery dealing with a broken hip, leg, ribs and a fractured skull. 

This week, he’s back on patrol. 

"I feel great considering. I still have a little ways to go. They say give it a year because your body has to adjust," Richardson said.

Richardson said he isn’t afraid to hit the streets again even after seeing this video. 

"I committed myself to Christ a long time ago, and I assure you, I’m ready to meet my maker. I don't want to meet my family obviously but as far as the way I felt, again humbled," he said.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said there’s a lesson for all of us in this: pay attention when driving. 

“Fiddling with things on the floorboards, texting, and driving too fast when it's obvious that weather conditions outside says that you ought to be going a little slower. So the take away from this is folks just need to be careful," said R Oklahoma Highway Patrol Chief Rick Adams.

Richardson said he has a lot of people to thank for his recovery. The motorists who stopped along the side of the road to help, his brothers and sisters with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, his wife, but most of all, he said, he thanks God. 

“He has just given me a little bit more time to be with my family and to serve as a state trooper," he said.