Nebraska deputy jumps into moving truck; driver passed out

It turned out, the driver’s blood sugar had dropped to a severely low level and he didn’t know he was diabetic before the incident.

“As he came by, I could see the driver’s head slumped down and felt he was not conscious and it popped in my head that we need to get this vehicle stopped”, Volk told News Channel Nebraska.

However, after Sergeant Todd Volk ran across the highway and leapt into the moving vehicle to bring it to a halt, it became clear that the driver was not trying to evade officers, but had suffered a diabetic episode.

Madison County Sheriff Vern Hjorth said Volk had risked his life to save another, and commended his actions. The truck was approaching the Karl Stefan Memorial Airport in Norfolk when Sgt. Volk made his split-second decision to board the moving vehicle.

Without any thought for his own safety, Volk leapt out of the police auto and jumped into the truck’s cab where he was able to apply the brakes and bring the vehicle to a stop. Volk said the truck did not appear to respond at all to the lights and sirens from the patrol cars. The video, though grainy, clearly shows Volk hanging on as the driver side door flaps open wildly as the semi comes to a stop.

He was given glucose before being taken to hospital.