Still bruised from the accident, Florida Trooper Toni Schuck, who is being called a hero after risking her life to save thousands of runners of the Skyway Bridge from a DUI driver, is speaking out for the first time.
On Sunday, the scary incident happened during the Skyway 10K run, where thousands of runners were out on the skyway bridge. At around 8:45 am that morning, a DUI driver drove through cones, barricades, and past troopers and headed toward the racers. To protect the runners, Schuck put her Florida Highway Patrol Chevrolet Tahoe right in the DUI driver's path and collided with the driver, totaling both vehicles.
During her interview on Thursday, she said that she knew if she didn't step in and protect, nobody else would be able to. "I was the last officer; I knew it was me," Schuck said. "If it wasn't me to get her to stop, then who?"
"I had myself positioned in the middle of the road," she said. "I'm not trained to do that ... it was just an instinct."
Thousands of people have reached out to Schuck to show their gratitude and appreciation for her incredibly heroic act. So many that, in fact, she mentioned she likely won't be able to respond to them all.