A Baltimore police officer’s bodycam captured the moment a Pokemon Go-playing distracted driver sideswiped a parked police cruiser early Monday morning.
Footage of the incident shows three police officers standing on a sidewalk next to a parked police vehicle when a Toyota RAV 4 clipped the side of the unoccupied patrol car.
After the crash, a police officer is seen approaching the damaged SUV to check on the occupants of the vehicle.
“You guys OK?” the cop asks. As the officer rounds the front of the vehicle, the driver steps out of the car holding a mobile phone, showing the officer the Pokemon Go app opened on his phone.
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“Ahhh man! That’s what I get for playing this dumb-ass game,” the young driver said. “Are you OK? I’m so sorry.”
“Nobody was in the car, are you guys OK?” the officer asked.
Police said no one was injured as a result of the crash, and the police force issued a message on social media reminding the public about the dangers of distracted driving.
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“#PokemonGO is not all fun and games. Here is a video of a distracted driver who struck one of our cars. #PlaySafe,” the police force tweeted.
The driver was not identified and police did not release details about whether charges would be laid.
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A police spokesperson told WBAL-TV News the driver admitted to playing the popular mobile game.
“This could have easily been somebody crossing the street and struck by the vehicle,” a Baltimore police media relations officer told the news station. “It’s a game, but not when you are in a 2,000-pound vehicle driving down a roadway. It’s a game but if you’re walking and not paying attention somebody can rob you and it can go bad. We don’t want that and we want people to pay attention.”
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