State trooper Jesse Gregory was nearing the end of a routine traffic stop on Oklahoma’s Interstate 40 when he learned the hard way that he should have been much more worried about a different car.


Returning to the stopped Mercury SUV’s passenger side door, Gregory informed the driver that his license was suspended. But instead of then ending the 20-minute stop himself, a distracted Lexus SUV did it for him by rear-ending the pair at highway speeds. The crash sent Gregory tumbling.



“I didn’t hear brakes or anything, I just remember going flying,” he told ABC. High on adrenaline, Gregory popped up and immediately called EMS for himself, and the other accident victims.


"I immediately knew that somebody just hit us. God absolutely protected me during that."


Highway danger is unfortunately nothing new for Gregory, who was first on the scene earlier this month when his colleague and neighbor Deputy Jose Tayahua-Mendoza was struck much more seriously.


“I’m ready to come back,” Gregory said, but “it’s going to take a little bit mentally to come back.”


“Hopefully this is the scare of my career,” he added.


Fortunately, Gregory escaped with just a minor laceration to his arm, and all other accident victims have been treated and released from the hospital.