Apex officer nearly hit, woman cited under 'move over' law

APEX, NC (WTVD) -- An Apex Police officer nearly got hit Friday morning when he was writing a speeding ticket along I-40.

Miraculously, he walked away unhurt and the woman responsible for the crash was charged under the Move Over law.

The law, enacted in 2002, says cars must safely move over one lane if they see an emergency vehicle of any kind stopped alongside the road.

Officer James Sites was on I-40 East near Rock Quarry Road in Raleigh Friday morning on a multi-agency initiative to catch speeders when his Tahoe was hit from behind.

"He was lucky in a sense to not have been in the vehicle and injured or not outside the vehicle," said Capt. Mitchell McKinney of the Apex Police Department.

McKinney said the crash was a domino effect - a four-car wreck.

"She has the responsibility as a driver to move to an adjacent lane and she did not do that," he said. "This law is specifically to address having vehicular traffic move to a safer lane or traveling past when we have a motor-vehicle stop."

The law is a misdemeanor.