CARMI - On November 12, 2019, during an ice storm, a stranded motorist who was being helped by two Illinois State Police Troopers experienced what officers are describing a “Miracle on the Ice.”

The State Police has released this information, photo, and video for the entire state to see and learn from this close, life-or-death call.

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Probationary Trooper Pflaum and his Field Training Officer, Trooper Zimmerman, were changing the tire on a vehicle on Interstate 64 at milepost 101 near Wayne City, when they came inches from losing their lives.

"The two ISP heroes yelled “Watch out!” and pulled the woman out of the way," ISP said in a statement. "Fortunately, she was down in the ditch line as the box truck literally passed over the top of her and barely missed the two Troopers. She was treated and released from a local hospital and the two Troopers were not injured. While this was not a Scott’s Law violation because the box truck driver had already moved over to the left lane, he was not showing due caution as he proceeded past the scene. The driver of the box truck was cited for Failure to Reduce Speed to Avoid a Crash.

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"We were inches away from a different story being told. Literally inches. Folks, we can’t stress this enough: Slow Down. Move over when you see vehicles on the shoulder of the roadway with their lights on. Proceed with caution. It is especially important during the snow/ice conditions. As you can see, sometimes it’s a matter of life or death as a stranded motorist. It’s not just about us out there, it is people you know and love that we are assisting also."

#MiracleOnTheIce #MoveOver #SlowDown”

All subjects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

This is a link showing footage of the crash: https://youtu.be/eZp6dYICMCY

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