State Police Video Shows Driver Come Within ‘Inches’ of Slamming Into Cruiser

State Police are telling motorists to take it easy on the highways—especially when cruising through the Tip O’Neill tunnel along I-93—after video captured a driver nearly crash into a trooper’s vehicle parked on the roadway during construction detail.

The video shows Trooper Jay Clement’s cruiser, stationary in the tunnel, when suddenly a black car swerves into his lane, “missing Trooper Clement, by only inches.”

According to police, the officer was in a work zone that was clearly marked by lights and cones:

It is difficult to see in the video, but both left lanes were closed to traffic. The lanes were closed by illuminated traffic signs and high visibility traffic cones. The lane closure started approximately one mile prior to entry into the tunnel. Cones were placed against the left side roadway barriers and gradually tapered into the left lane, followed by an illuminated arrow board. More cones then followed and again tapered into the next left lane, then continued into the tunnel. The double left lane closure continued until the exit of the tunnel at the Zakim Bridge.

The driver in the video comes up behind Clement at a high rate of speed, before “miraculously” turning and swerving at the last moment, according to police. The car appears to lift off of its back wheel, before slowing down. “The small black car was sliding out of control when he passe[d] Trooper Clement. Subsequently, Trooper Clement stopped the motor vehicle. The operator was not impaired,” police said in a Facebook post. “It is heard all too often of police cruisers being struck. This video shows why it is so important to slow down in construction zones, and pay attention to the road construction signs. This incident was only inches from being something far worse.”