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By Rebecca Fiedler – (TheEagle) A Brenham police officer used his patrol car Wednesday to stop a woman who was driving erratically because of a medical emergency.
According to Angela Hahn, spokeswoman for the Brenham Police Department, Sgt. Seth Klehm was driving on Texas 36 around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday when he saw a sport utility vehicle driving erratically and weaving into the oncoming lane.
Klehm called in the incident and activated his emergency lights for the vehicle to pull over. When the SUV continued driving, Klehm accelerated and glanced into the driver’s window.
“He could see she was having some sort of medical episode,” Hahn said.
Other officers helped clear the area of traffic, as the driver continued swerving on the road.
“It was obvious to Seth that she was going to have an accident, so he put his vehicle between hers and the other vehicles,” Hahn said.
The police sergeant — who once worked as an EMT — braced for impact as the woman’s SUV, which was traveling at about 40 miles an hour, struck the back end of his patrol car. The impact stopped the SUV and caused significant damage to the patrol car.
Klehm broke open the SUV’s back window with his flashlight so he could unlock the door and helped transfer the woman to awaiting paramedics.
The woman was later stabilized, Hahn said, but at the time she was taken from her car, she was completely incoherent. Though she hadn’t slipped into a coma, the diabetic woman had no idea where she was or what was happening.
“She didn’t have any control of her actions,” Hahn said.
Police have various protocol for dealing with drunken drivers, injured drivers and drivers evading arrest, but because of Klehm’s EMT experience, he was able to recognize with a quick glance through the woman’s window what was going on, Hahn said.
“He could see through the window that she was sweating profusely,” she said. “That was an indicator that she wasn’t just a drunk person driving.”
The woman is reportedly recovering and grateful for her rescuer. Klehm was not injured, except for some soreness from the collision.
Hahn said many people have been calling Klehm a hero, but he has insisted he did what all police officers are trained to do, and what any of his co-workers would have done. The Brenham Police Department’s Facebook page also credits fellow officer Jose Perez in helping to keep the roadways clear of potential crash victims.
“The actions taken by both Klehm and Perez are indicative of the caliber of men and women who work for the Brenham Police Department,” the post states. “We salute you!”
