Driver plows into 2 Butler County Sheriff's Department vehicles during traffic stop

Authorities said a driver who was both distracted and under the influence almost caused serious injury to sheriff's deputies Tuesday night.

Two Butler County (Missouri) Sheriff's Department deputies and a K-9 officer were making a traffic stop shortly before 11 p.m., when their vehicles were struck by a passing vehicle, a report said.

While no serious injuries were reported from the accident, Hayley Davis, 30, of Qulin, Missouri, was arrested and cited for first-degree assault on a law enforcement officer and driving while intoxicated.

Davis was allegedly both under the influence and using her cellphone when she struck the vehicles on Highway 53, near Butler County Road 206.

It was deputies' training and attention to conditions around them that prevented a more serious outcome, according to Butler County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Wes Popp.

"Even though deputies were just doing a regular traffic stop, we always try to be aware. We try to use precautions, but unfortunately, you can't avoid everything," he said.

An individual had been pulled over for a traffic violation and deputies were just wrapping up the stop when the accident occurred, Popp explained.

Two sheriff's department cars were parked behind the stopped vehicle.

The first car to be struck, and the farthest from the deputies, had its tire turned hard to the left and the bumper angled toward traffic.

This is done intentionally to protect officers and the individuals during traffic stops, should an accident be caused by an oncoming vehicle, Popp said.

In this case, he said he believes it provided life-saving protection.

While deputies do not know how fast Davis's 2005 Buick Ranier was traveling, Popp said it struck the front of the first vehicle hard enough to take off the driver-side front tire.

The Ranier then struck the second patrol vehicle, sliding from the back to the front along the driver's side.

Neither the deputies, the individual who was stopped, nor the citizen's car were struck, Popp said. A K-9 officer, Apollo, was also on scene but uninjured.

Both patrol vehicles, a 2017 Ford Explorer and a 2011 Chevrolet Tahoe, were towed from the scene.

The sheriff's department will have to rely on backup vehicles for patrol now, a challenge, Popp said, because one was a specialty vehicle with no replacement in house.

He said he is uncertain how long either repairs or the purchase of new vehicles could take given nationwide shortages.

Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers responded to the accident and reported that Dakota L. Logganins, 27, of Poplar Bluff was a pedestrian who received minor injuries. Logganins reportedly was taken by private vehicle for medical treatment of minor injuries.

Davis is being held in the Butler County Jail.