Deputy nearly loses leg in Pontiac police chase

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Dashcam video from a chase in Oakland County shows a deputy nearly being run over while trying to make an arrest.

It all started with a routine traffic stop in Pontiac on Emerson Road near Baltimore when an Oakland County Sheriff's deputy tries to stop a car blowing through a stop sign. But then it turned into this.

Slammed, then pinned against his own car, Oakland County Sheriff deputy Raymond Wiggins Jr.  is recovering Tuesday after trying to pull over,  then chase down a 21-year-old Pontiac man.

"His leg was twisted up and over, he was in a painful moment," said Sheriff Michael Bouchard. "It can go from a calm moment to absolute life and death situations for the men and women on the front lines every day."

The sheriff's office says Wiggins spotted the erratic driver on Emerson  in Pontiac early Saturday morning, of course not knowing who he was attempting to pull over.

"Just running a stop sign by accident or maybe he was running from something in the area," Bouchard. "So they went to stop him and off he ran."

Calling for backup, Wiggins followed  the driver speeding down Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, through more stop signs, intersections and neighborhoods.

"That was when the deputy decided to put a stop to it so he didn't hurt anybody and initiated a pit maneuver," Bouchard said.

Trying to block and stop the speeding driver, along with two other deputies help, the man decided to make a run for it.

"The suspect left his vehicle in drive," Bouchard said. "So (the car) ended up coming after the officer and pinning him against his own car."

FOX 2: "If this would have been an inch any certain way ...."

"Yes, it could have taken his leg right off," Bouchard said.

The driver ran away leaving Wiggins as other deputies blocked the car from going into the intersection - not long later the driver was tracked down and arrested.

"Apparently he thought he was going to jail on something other than this," Bouchard said.

Wiggins is banged up and now at home in a leg brace but apparently still with a smile on his face.

"Great attitude, 'Yeah, I'll be okay,'" Bouchard said. "'I almost had my leg taken off but I'm fine.'"

Proving that police while putting on the uniform every day, never know who they are going to be dealing with.

Deputy Wiggins will spend the next few days recovering. The driver is facing fleeing and eluding charges at the very least.