This is the dramatic moment a hero cop saved a mum who collapsed unconscious behind the wheel of a car with her baby in the back – by ramming it off a motorway.
PC Danny Pattison, 35, was on patrol when he got a call from the control room to say a Peugeot 306 had been spotted driving erratically along the A42 and M1.
The officer rushed to the scene near junction 23 where he saw the car weaving across all three lanes of the motorway and even careering onto the hard shoulder.
Dashcam from PC Pattison’s patrol car shows him follow the car before pulling alongside where he realised the female driver was unconscious behind the wheel.
The officer can be seen driving his BMW 5 Series patrol car behind the Peugeot which is swerving between the second and third lanes of the M1 at 30mph.
The silver car then swerves across two lanes of the motorway onto the hard shoulder before going back onto the carriageway.
PC Pattison’s sirens can be heard in the background as he follows the Peugeot which continues to swerve between the first and second lanes.
The hero officer can be seen pulling to the right of the Peugeot before repeatedly ramming it into the barriers until it comes to a halt.
Today (Wed), Leicestershire Police released the dramatic 3.19-minute video of the incident which took place on April 11 this year.
After the rescue, it emerged the woman driving the Peugeot had slipped into a diabetic coma and had no recollection of the incident.
PC Pattison has since been rewarded for his quick-thinking with a Chief Constable’s commendation.
The hero officer said he initially pulled up alongside the Peugeot with his car’s siren and lights blazing thinking the motorist might be drunk.
But he decided he had to take decisive action after he was told over the radio that a second back-up vehicle was still 27 miles away in Mansfield, Notts.
Pc Pattison added: “My colleague Tom, who was in the car behind, had effectively stopped any other cars passing me, giving me an open road in front.
“I pulled up alongside and saw the woman with her head completely back, staring at the roof of the car. She was out, she was obviously unconscious.
“Then I saw the child in the back, about 18 months old.
“I thought: ‘This is going to end up with her and the baby getting killed’ so I ran through in my head all the options I had.
“I knew the only thing I could do is try and slow the car down but I also knew that could end badly.
“But during the bit on the footage were she went towards the curb I felt helpless and my heart sank, which is why I made the decision not to wait for the other police cars to come to me and I had to force her into the barrier.
“I gently pulled up alongside and began to push the car against the barrier and then as it slowed I pulled across the front of it.
“The woman was still unconscious and her foot was on the accelerator but I managed to get it to stop.”
After the dramatic rescue, PC Pattison’s colleague brought the woman out of her coma with a bar of chocolate he had with him for his lunch.
Paramedics checked over the mother and child but either had any injuries.
PC Pattison added: “I’ve got a five-year-old child and I just kept thinking about him and what could have happened.
“I have to say that the incident was well managed from start to finish and was a great team effort all around.”
Speaking after the rescue, the Peugeot driver, who didn’t want to be named, said: “When I was told exactly what had happened I was very emotional.
“Had it not been for the actions of the officers bringing my car to a stop, I dread to think what the outcome may have been.”
The mum also said she had lived with the condition for 23 years and had never previously had an attack like it.
Chief Constable Simon Cole presented PC Pattison with a commendation at Leicestershire Police’s headquarters in Enderby, Leics., earlier this month.
He said: “Danny put himself at risk and prevented a potentially serious accident from happening.
“We’re proud of him and he should be too.”
