Maryland Police Release Video of Accident Involving Senator John Fetterman

“The black car is, I actually think, a senator from Pennsylvania – this really big, tall guy. … He just drove into the red car,” a paramedic can be heard saying in the video.

The same officer later stated in a witness statement that he was flying and trying to run into her, and he just crushed her.

The footage, which state police released Thursday under Maryland’s Public Information Act and redacted in some cases, shows Fetterman politely answering questions. The senator did not reveal his identity as he gathered with his wife and another driver on the side of a Washington County highway last month.

A first responder on the scene, speaking with state police officers some distance from Fetterman, described how he recognized him.

“When I walked up to him, I saw him in shorts and a sweatshirt and said, ‘Good morning, Senator,'” he recalled. “In the 20 years I’ve been doing this, I’ve never had a politician.”

The accident occurred on the morning of June 9 on Interstate 70 near Hagerstown, state police said. Fetterman was driving west at “well above the speed limit” and struck a Chevrolet Impala, the police report said, citing a witness.

After the crash, Fetterman was treated for a shoulder injury and he and his wife were taken to the hospital by ambulance, according to a police report and information from his office. No charges were filed at the scene of the crash, the police report said. Fetterman cleaned up the wreckage afterward, brandished a bag of frozen peas and Tylenol with his wife in a video and thanked people for their well wishes.

Fetterman’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon, but in a statement last month, Fetterman said he would slow down in the future.

“It was an unfortunate accident on Sunday and I am relieved and grateful that no one was seriously injured,” he said at the time. “I have been driving for almost 40 years and have received a few speeding tickets. When I was speeding, I was held accountable. I need to do better and drive slower – and I will.”

Fetterman, a 6-foot-8 first-year senator who suffered a stroke during the campaign and checked himself into a depression clinic shortly after arriving in Washington, cuts a towering figure on Capitol Hill, wearing his signature hoodies at official functions and in the Capitol, which has sparked a debate about the Senate’s dress code.

During his two-year term as Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, Fetterman had a security detail to chauffeur him around the state. But as senator, he often drives himself, especially in the Keystone State, according to people familiar with his travels. He often drives much of the way to and from his hometown of Braddock, Pennsylvania, and DC himself.

The crash highlighted Fetterman’s past unsafe driving. He has received two speeding tickets for speeding 24 mph or more, one in 2016 and one in March, according to Pennsylvania state records. After the ticket this year, when he was going 34 mph over the limit, the state required him to take a driver improvement course, according to a person familiar with the outcome who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the incident. Neither record specified exactly where he was driving or how fast he was going.

When asked by the Washington Post about the reports on his driving, a spokesman for Fetterman called them “gossip and inaccurate” but declined to elaborate.

Some parts of the video and audio that appear to contain personal or medical information have been redacted by Maryland authorities. Under Maryland law, certain information is not considered public, such as personal addresses and phone numbers.

The video and audio recording show an otherwise routine accident for police, paramedics and firefighters. At one point, two of them stand next to the damaged cars and joke about how badly Fetterman’s SUV is damaged.

“I guess I’ll have to tow it for that too,” says one.

“Yeah, this one definitely won’t move,” the other respondent replies.

An earlier version of this story included quotes that did not exactly match what is heard in the video. This version has been corrected.

Liz Goodwin contributed to this report.