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'Would've Been Us': Officers Hope Drivers Don't Drink & Drive After Near Miss

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - Body camera video shows how quickly a traffic stop changed for Aurora Police Officer Kyle Stoepple. Early Saturday morning, he was on the side of the road investigating a possible DUI when a drunk driver came crashing into the scene hitting one of the patrol cars.

"It was loud, it was close and I turned around did not expect to see a car flipped over maybe 10 feet in front of me," he said. "We normally run DUI's with two cars."

aurora dui cop crash
(credit: Aurora Police)

He says, on this night, a third car showed up on whim.

"If that car wasn't there…me and my partner were talking about it that would have been us," he said.

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(credit: CBS)

Stoepple, who started with the Aurora Police Department last year, says he has never seen it happen before. Fellow officer Javen Harper knows it does.

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(credit: CBS)

"It happens fairly often. I believe nationally it happens once a week," he said.

CBS4 found several recent instances including one week earlier in Lakewood. The police department shared video on Twitter of the damage to one of their patrol cars after a suspected DUI driver hit it. The officer involved was investigating a DUI when the crash happened.

Lakewood DUI Collision 2 (LkwdPD tweet)
(credit: CBS)

In April, Colorado State Patrol posted pictures of a trooper's car that had been rear ended by a DUI driver. On March 25, Thornton Police tweeted about one of their officers going to the hospital; he was in his SUV when a drunk driver slammed into it.

With Memorial Day weekend coming up, Aurora Police hope sharing their video of a narrow escape will be a reminder to everyone about the dangers of drinking and driving.

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(credit: CBS)

"Unfortunately some people aren't as lucky as we were," Stoepple said.

A spokesperson with Aurora police says the flashing lights meant to protect officers on traffic stops may actually be part of the problem because drunk drivers are drawn toward them.

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