Lubbock Police Officer Philip Standefer and the woman he saved--19-year-old Sarah Beaty--hadn't spoken since they were both rushed away from the scene of their accident nearly two weeks ago.
That changed Monday night when the two sat down for an interview with ABC's Good Morning America.
The two embraced as Standefer and his wife welcomed Beaty into their home.
After spending a few minutes talking and reliving the moment that brought them together, the two sat down and began describing the moments before, during and after the freak accident.
"I heard what sounded like a train coming, is what it sounded like, and i look up to the east and I see a van coming," Standefer said. "My initial instinct was to get Sarah out of the way. I knew that she didn't see the car coming so I knew that if I didn't do that she was gonna get hit."
The van was being driven by a man police say was drunk. Police dash cam video shows the van racing down the road before it slams into an LPD patrol car which, in turn, hits Standefer, temporarily pinning him between two vehicles.
Sarah Beaty, the woman Standefer shoved out of the way, said she had no clue what was happening.
"I notice everyone's fleeing and I turn around and I'm being toss/thrown out of the way of a van that's hitting a police cruiser," Beatty Said. "I remember hitting the concrete and closing my eyes again because I didn't know if I was gonna open that up because I didn't know what had happened."
Both Standefer and Beaty were taken to the hospital by EMS but neither suffered serious injuries.
"I did get hit by a car so it's pretty lucky that nothing else happened," Standefer said with a smile.
Watch the KAMC Morning News Tuesday to see what our cameras caught as Standefer and Beaty meet for the first time since the accident and stick around for Good Morning America, who will profile the accident just after 7:00 a.m.
That changed Monday night when the two sat down for an interview with ABC's Good Morning America.
The two embraced as Standefer and his wife welcomed Beaty into their home.
After spending a few minutes talking and reliving the moment that brought them together, the two sat down and began describing the moments before, during and after the freak accident.
"I heard what sounded like a train coming, is what it sounded like, and i look up to the east and I see a van coming," Standefer said. "My initial instinct was to get Sarah out of the way. I knew that she didn't see the car coming so I knew that if I didn't do that she was gonna get hit."
The van was being driven by a man police say was drunk. Police dash cam video shows the van racing down the road before it slams into an LPD patrol car which, in turn, hits Standefer, temporarily pinning him between two vehicles.
Sarah Beaty, the woman Standefer shoved out of the way, said she had no clue what was happening.
"I notice everyone's fleeing and I turn around and I'm being toss/thrown out of the way of a van that's hitting a police cruiser," Beatty Said. "I remember hitting the concrete and closing my eyes again because I didn't know if I was gonna open that up because I didn't know what had happened."
Both Standefer and Beaty were taken to the hospital by EMS but neither suffered serious injuries.
"I did get hit by a car so it's pretty lucky that nothing else happened," Standefer said with a smile.
Watch the KAMC Morning News Tuesday to see what our cameras caught as Standefer and Beaty meet for the first time since the accident and stick around for Good Morning America, who will profile the accident just after 7:00 a.m.
