SEQUOYAH COUNTY, Okla. — A Sequoyah County deputy was hit by a car while conducting traffic stop on Thursday, Sept. 26.
The sheriff's office identified the deputy as Deputy Duwaine Chase, who is reportedly in critical condition.
According to the Sequoyah County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) Undersheriff Charles House, Deputy Chase was supporting the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) respond to a fatal crash near Vian around 10:20 p.m. He was directing traffic when he was hit.
OHP— who is looking into both the fatal crash and the incident involving Deputy Chase— said the deputy partially went through the windshield of the car after being hit.
Undersheriff House told 5NEWS Deputy Chase was in the ICU in very critical condition. "There are several broken bones, vertebrae, ribs, legs ... But he's in good hands, and really all we can do is just continue to help the family, pray, and let the doctors take care of business."
Deputy Chase was described by Undersheriff House as a young deputy, but an experienced one. "We always worry about getting into a shootout or something like that, but in reality, there's more of a chance of us getting into a car crash or getting hit like this."
Undersheriff House explained Deputy Chase just got through a fight with cancer, and continued his work for Sequoyah County after deciding to amputate his foot. "There's not one of us that's got the drive that Deputy Chase has, and the determination, the no-quit attitude."
OHP said the driver of the car was not hurt, remained at the scene, and is not under arrest at this time.
It was also noted by Undersheriff House that the vehicle that hit Chase was incorrectly reported as a semi, when it was just a passenger car.
For more information about the fatal crash that Deputy Chase was responding to, check out our separate article here.
No further details have been released at this time. Stay with 5NEWS for updates.
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