The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has publicly released dashcam footage capturing the moment a deputy struck a pedestrian with a police cruiser during a vehicular chase. The incident occurred on September 7, when Deputy Benjamin Jaramillo, attempting to stop a driver in a Dodge Charger with what he believed to be a fake temporary license plate, began to pursue the vehicle, as reported by KSAT.
Deputy Jaramillo, a two-year veteran of the BCSO, initially noticed the Charger because it lacked a front license plate and decided to quickly check the displayed temporary plate. According to a statement obtained by News 4 San Antonio, after running the plate numbers and finding no information, Jaramillo signaled the driver to pull over. The pursuit ensued when the driver appeared to comply but then suddenly sped away.
The chase led down Eisenhauer Road, nearing the I-35 access road where the incident took a turn. As documented in the dashcam video, the Dodge Charger made a turn onto the I-35 access road, and during the pursuit, Deputy Jaramillo lost control of his patrol vehicle, striking a pedestrian who was standing on a concrete island at the intersection.
The injured pedestrian, a 57-year-old male, was aided by Deputy Jaramillo until the arrival of the San Antonio Fire Department officials. He was subsequently transported to a local hospital with injuries deemed non-life-threatening. Following the incident, per BCSO policy, Deputy Jaramillo was first placed on administrative leave and later on administrative duty as the investigation into the accident continues to actively unfold, as reported by KSAT.
