PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida Highway Patrol trooper said it's a miracle he and a woman are alive after a hit-and-run driver caused a terrifying and dangerous chain-reaction crash on Interstate 95 in Palm Beach County on Thursday.
Trooper Dominic Alexandre, 23, was helping a woman with a flat tire around 3:15 p.m. in the northbound lanes, just south of Hypoluxo Road.
Without warning, a sedan of unknown color, model, or year collided with a white pickup truck, which then sideswiped a gray pickup truck. That truck then slammed into the woman's disabled vehicle on the side of I-95.
Dash camera video from Alexandre's FHP cruiser showed him and the woman sprinting out of the way, narrowly escaping serious injuries.
WATCH VIDEO OF CRASH:
"I didn't know that day would be a pivotal moment in my life," Alexandre said during a news conference on Friday. "It's a miracle. God's always watching us."
Alexandre — who's been with FHP for two years — is a man of strong and resolute faith and said he always prays before going to work. That unwavering faith, he said, is what helped him survive Thursday's traumatic encounter.
"I was able to hear the screeching sound of the pickup truck," Alexandre said. "I had a split-second decision to make. My life or get hit. So I ran to the right immediately as fast as I can and didn't get hit."
The sedan that caused the wreck took off immediately after the crash. The driver has not been identified or caught.
Alexandre said the woman suffered minor injuries to her legs and was taken to JFK Medical Center. The trooper was not hurt and was back to work on Friday.
"I always look up to the man up above that protected me during the incident yesterday," Alexandre said. "When your faith is strong, God will always protect you."
WATCH NEWS CONFERENCE:
Alexandre urged motorists to slow down anytime you see authorities on the side of major highways and obey Florida's "Move Over Law," which requires you to move over one lane — when you can safely do so — for stopped law enforcement officers, emergency crews, sanitation workers, utility service vehicles, and tow trucks.
If you can't move over, slow down to a speed that is 20 mph less than the posted speed limit.
"If you see law enforcement, fire rescue, road ranger, two trucks, garbage trucks, you need to slow down," Alexandre said.
If you have any information about who the driver of the sedan is, call Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County at 1-800-458-8477.
