"People have to slow down:" Dashcam video captures driver lose control, travel through I-94 median

JEFFERSON -- A Jefferson County deputy had a close call Wednesday night; he said it's like nothing he's ever experienced before. Video from the dash camera of his car shows an out-of-control SUV come within just a few feet of hitting him. Deputy Peter Betanski responded to a call around 8:15 Wednesday night for a car that wiped out and was in the median along I-94 east of Johnson Creek. Betanski said he responded to several accidents as the snow fell Wednesday. "Multiple minor crashes, run-offs," Betanski said. As he wrote the crash report for the incident, Betanski said he noticed the driver had gotten out of his car. The deputy said he went to tell the driver that he needed to stay in his vehicle for his own safety. That's when Betanski, who's been with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office for 17 years, was almost hit himself. "That's the closest I've ever been to being struck," said Betanski.  

  "An SUV came blowing past us, missed me by about ten feet, hit the embankment and then went airborne over the guardrail across two lanes of I-94 and crashed into the opposite side guardrail," said Betanski. Thankfully, the SUV did not hit any other cars and no one was hurt. "'I said, 'that's why I told you to stay in your car,'" Betanski said. While Betanski watched the video with his fellow deputies, and even saved it to his phone, he kept it from his family. "I honestly didn't tell them. I just called them shortly before this interview to let her know this occurred and I'd be on TV so she didn't find out that way," said Betanski. Betanski says it's because he doesn't want his family thinking about the dangers of his job -- one of which is made all too clear by the video. "People have to slow down. That was our comment, all of us, people have to drive for the conditions," said Betanski.