Deputy pinned between crusier and drunk driver's car

VAN BUREN COUNTY, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - A Van Buren County deputy is recovering, after he was pinned between his cruiser and a drunk driver's car during a traffic stop over the 4th of July weekend.

Around 2 o'clock on Friday morning in Decatur, Deputy Matt Konkle and his partner pulled over a driver for a sobriety check.

Deputy Konkle had gotten out of the cruiser to get a breathalyzer out of the trunk, when another car slammed into him, pinning him between the cruiser and their car. Police say the driver of that car was later found to have been three times over the legal blood alcohol limit.

Astonishingly, Konkle didn't even break a bone.

"Really it's a miracle," he told Newschannel 3. "I'm dumbfounded that I'm not dead, or at least in a wheel chair."

Konkle estimates the car hit him at 30 to 40 miles per hour.

"At that moment adrenaline kicked in, I didn't feel a whole lot," he said. "I remember my partner yelling, 'Matty, you okay'?"

Because Konkle was pinned between the two cars, his partner, Dept. John Stolsonburg had to pull the cruiser forward, and as Konke fell he smashed both his elbows on the pavement, requiring more than 30 stitches.

"You just want to survive at that point, I remember thinking about my wife and kids, and thinking, 'I'm not going to die in the street'," he said.

Konkle says he was afraid to look as his partner assessed his injuries.

"He goes, 'I think you're okay, you might have a broken leg or two, but I think you're okay'," said Konkle.

But neither of Konkle's legs were broken. His left leg is bruised, cut and swollen, and his right leg may have some internal injuries, however, doctors can't fully assess the damage until the swelling goes down.

Police say that the person who crashed into Deputy Konkle is a 26-year-old man from Dowagiac, and he's currently out of jail on bond. He's expected back in court on July 14, and if convicted of drunk driving, it will be his second offense.