Video: The Drastic Measure a Cop Had to Resort to on the Side of the Road While Avoiding a Drunk Driver

Dashboard camera videos have recorded people trying to evade police by jumping off bridges in an act of desperation before, but this time it was a cop who was desperate.

Officer Kenneth Lewis with the Missouri City Police Department in Texas jumped 30 feet off a bridge Friday when he saw an alleged drunk driver barreling toward he and his partner, who were conducting a traffic stop with another driver on a highway. This week, footage from the incident captured on the cruiser's dashcam was released.

“A preliminary review of the video, it appears he was making an attempt to get out of the way of the vehicle and jumped a concrete barrier and, unbeknownst to him, he was 30 feet off the ground,” Lt. Paul Poulton with the police department told KHOU-TV.

In the video, screeching tires can be heard as the car approached and crashed into the cruiser. Lewis is then seen making the decision to jump, thinking it would lead him to safety.

The moment Lewis saw the oncoming car. (Image source: KHOU-TV)

He then jumped, not knowing how far the drop was. (Image source: KHOU-TV)

Watch the footage in KHOU-TV's report:

The Houston Chronicle reported that Lewis landed on the banks of Flat Bank Bayou below. After his partner called for help, Lewis was found conscious on the scene and rushed to the hospital and into surgery.

"He had a partially ruptured aorta that had to be repaired," Lt. Poulton told the news station. "Now they're looking at his fractured pelvis to decide if they have to do surgery on it or not."

It was a 30-foot fall off the bridge. (Image source: KHOU-TV)

Lewis is in stable condition and is expected to recover.

The driver of the vehicle was identified as Christie Biggers, who is a physical education teacher at a local school. She was arrested and charged with intoxicated assault after the accident.

“She’s a 46-year-old lady with a family and a son and a great family in this community and she’s just devastated. Traumatized, I would say,” Biggers’ attorney Rocket Rosen told KHOU. “She wants to make sure that Officer Lewis and the family accept her deepest apologies.”