The passenger in the car that hit him helped move the trooper out of danger, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY – A Florida Highway Patrol trooper was injured Wednesday (June 28) when he was hit by an SUV the driver was unable to control.

Trooper Jack Hypes, 58, of Tampa, was taken to Tampa General Hospital with minor injuries. Jose L. Feliciano, 37, the driver of the SUV, was also taken to Tampa General Hospital for medical issues not resulting from the crash. He had no crash-related injuries.

The crash happened about 11:12 a.m. on westbound I-4 east of I-275. Feliciano was driving a 2007 Mitsubishi SUV when he had a medical emergency that made it difficult to control his vehicle. The SUV started weaving back and forth across multiple lanes, troopers said.

Kenneth E. Franklin, 26, of Temple Terrace, the passenger in the SUV, helped bring the vehicle to a controlled stop. Hypes, who had seen the erratic driving, stopped with the SUV on the inside shoulder of the road. Hypes approached the SUV on foot. The SUV lurched, hit Hypes, knocked him to the ground and partially ran over him with its left rear tire.

Franklin got out of the SUV and helped Hypes get to safety away from the SUV, which Feliciano was unable to control because of his medical condition. Franklin then helped get the runaway SUV stopped. Troopers said Franklin was instrumental in protecting Hypes from further injury and getting the SUV completely stopped.

No charges have been filed.

For information about the Florida Highway Patrol, go to flhsmv.gov.

Florida Highway Patrol | FHP Trooper Injured | I-4 Crash | Traffic Crash | Tampa Bay News | TB Reporter

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