BUCHANAN, WI – (WGBW & WISS) – An Outagamie County Deputy had a near miss and was almost killed by a drunk driver early Tuesday morning.

Sheriff’s officials say Deputy Brent Baxter was stopped on County Highway CE near County Highway N in the Town of Buchanan at about 1:00 a.m. Tuesday morning. He was attempting to remove a deer carcass from the roadway. He was stopped in the left eastbound lane of the road and had his emergency lights on.

While taking care of the carcass, the deputy was paying close attention to the traffic. He noticed an approaching vehicle that was not moving out of the lane he was stopped in.

The vehicle, a large SUV, did not move over and struck the patrol vehicle. The squad car was sent 75 feet down the highway. The SUV then careened across the median and nearly struck Deputy Baxter, who jumped out of the way. The SUV went across the westbound lanes and came to rest on the on ramp to westbound CTH CE. The driver of the vehicle attempted to flee on foot.

Baxter caught him and took the 35-year-old man into custody. He is being charged with OWI, 3rd offense.

“One of the most dangerous places our deputies operate is on our roadways, especially at night,” Outagamie County Sheriff’s Officials said in a press release. “We are very thankful Dep. Baxter was uninjured in this incident.”

The squad car is a total loss.

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