'I didn't even have time to think,' says UHP trooper hit during traffic stop


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MURRAY — Nearly three weeks after a drowsy driver slammed into the exact spot where he was conducting a routine traffic stop, Utah Highway Patrol trooper Devyn Gurney remembers little of the crash.

"I didn't even have time to think," Gurney said Thursday, speaking publicly for the first time since the accident. "I saw my patrol car coming at me, but I didn't even have time to think to move."

With fractures to his right leg, cuts to his left and deep bruising throughout, Gurney began what will likely be months of physical therapy Thursday. It was painful, he said, but necessary, to get him back to the job that means so much to him.

"I'm anxious to get healed up and get back out there," said Gurney, who has been with UHP for nearly three years. "I love my job as a trooper and being able to serve other people, going every day not knowing what's going to happen, but knowing you can make a difference."

Gurney had pulled over another vehicle in the far left emergency lane of traffic on March 6 — he noted it's best to move to the right shoulder if you're being stopped — and was heading back to his patrol car with the driver's information when an SUV veered across multiple lanes and slammed into the rear of the trooper's car.

The UHP car was pushed forward during the collision and hit Gurney.

Gurney says he never saw the SUV and doesn't remember being hit. The next thing he knew, he was on his back staring up at the sky, surrounded by people and unsure of how much time had passed.

The 48-year-old Orem man who hit Gurney had dozed off behind the wheel, according to the UHP. His 11-year-old daughter tried to wake him up when he drifted left across several lanes, Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon said at the time.

The girl suffered from stomach soreness due to the crash, while her two brothers, ages 8 and 5, had lacerations.

The car Gurney had pulled over was also hit in the chain-reaction crash. The 28-year-old woman driving that car was taken to a local hospital for neck soreness, while a 15-month-old boy in the car with her was uninjured.

Cannon confirmed Thursday that the driver of the SUV is still expected to face a traffic citation in the crash, though the report has not yet been finalized.

Gurney said Thursday he hasn't received an update on the condition of the other drivers, but he and his wife Summer have thought of them often.

"My family and I, we're well aware that our lives were not the only ones that were impacted and changed in this incident. There were other people involved who experienced injuries as well, and we hope they know that they are in our thoughts and prayers for a full recovery as well," Gurney said.

Summer Gurney said she was at work teaching preschool when her husband was struck. A UHP trooper arrived at the school looking for her, she said, and she immediately knew something had happened.

"I saw that trooper and I thought, 'I know what this means,'" she recalled, becoming emotional.

Utah Highway Patrol trooper Devyn Gurney, who was injured after being stuck by a vehicle while conducting a traffic stop on I-15 in Utah County earlier this month, and his wife, Summer, discuss the incident during a press conference at the Highway Patrol office in Murray on Thursday, March 23, 2017. (Photo: Laura Seitz, Deseret N
Utah Highway Patrol trooper Devyn Gurney, who was injured after being stuck by a vehicle while conducting a traffic stop on I-15 in Utah County earlier this month, and his wife, Summer, discuss the incident during a press conference at the Highway Patrol office in Murray on Thursday, March 23, 2017. (Photo: Laura Seitz, Deseret N

"You send your husband out there every day to save other people's lives, to help protect them, knowing that he's risking his own life. It can be a little bit hard, but I'm glad he's OK," Summer Gurney said.

Because the breaks in his leg remained in alignment, so far Gurney hasn't had any surgery. If they continue to heal well, he could avoid it altogether

"Overall, things are getting better as the days go on," he said, though he faces an "uphill" struggle and at least six months before he can start returning to his normal activity level. He expects to soon be cleared to take a desk position with UHP while he continues to heal.

Gurney has had some close calls before, but this is the first time he's been hit. It's a reminder of the risks involved in his job, he said, and the dangers of speeding, drowsy driving and a long list of distractions behind the wheel.

He urged Utah drivers to remember that troopers are working to keep them safe on the roads, and asked them to do the same in return.

"If you see a trooper on the side of the road, we slow down, we move over, we give them plenty of room. We're there to do a job to keep people safe and we depend on the public daily to help us in that endeavor," Gurney said.

Contributing: Sam Penrod

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