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Call for Help: Driver Desperately Calls for Help After Running Down Police Officer

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BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, OH (WOIO) - A Brooklyn Heights police officer remains hospitalized after an out of control vehicle struck him while assisting a disabled vehicle on the side of the road.

In the crash caught on tape, Lt. Lambert can be seen tapping 18-year-old Mariusz Trzeciak on the shoulder signaling him to move out of the way.

Mariusz Trzeciak met up with 19 Action News Monday telling everyone just how grateful he is to be alive! "You can see it in the tape when I stand up I'm surprised I'm alive. I was 100% sure I was going to die that day" said Trzeciak. 

The accident happened just before 5 p.m. Saturday on the I-176 southbound ramp to I-480 eastbound.

The desperate 911 call for help was released on Tuesday afternoon.

CALLER: I'm on I-76 onto 480 and I hit a police officer. He was helping someone out.

DISPATCHER: You just ran a police officer over?"

CALLER: He's on the side over the guardrail. He's alive he's breathing but he's very badly hurt.

Brooklyn Heights Lt. John Lambert, 42-years-old, was struck by a female motorist when she lost control of her car and slid into Lt. Lambert and Trzeciak. "The thing that made me look up was as he ran... he touched my shoulder and that made me spring my head up and I saw the car maybe eight feet from me" said Trzeciak.

The driver of the out of control vehicle and Trzeciak were both unharmed in the crash. Trzeciak thought he was going to die. "I just remember thinking I was going to die for sure because I thought it was going to hit me head on."

Looking at the crash caught on police dash cam, it is a wonder how Lt. Lambert survived. "I was 100 percent sure that he had died. There was blood everywhere" recalls Trzeciak.

Brooklyn Heights' Lt. Zawislan tells 19 Action News that Lt. Lambert is a 22-year veteran to the force and that he suffered a broken pelvis and an orbital fracture from the crash.

Remarkably, the officer was conscious and able to tell the driver who struck him his name.

CALLER: What's your last name, John? L-A-M-B-E-R-T. John, I'm so sorry.

Lucky to be alive, Trzeciak says he owes his life to Lt. Lambert. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart. It's amazing that you can think of someone else in that split instinct."

Because the driver of the second car didn't leave and she actually jumped out to try and help, it's unlikely she'll see charges. But the department is investigating and working on an official cause.

The message from police - treat wet roads like icy roads in the wintertime.

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