VIDEO: Florida trooper puts herself as last line of defense between drunk driver and hundreds of runners

Florida officials shared dramatic dash cam video featuring a veteran Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) trooper who prevented tragedy by placing her vehicle between a drunk driver and a group of race runners.

The video was captured on Sunday morning on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge located in Manatee County, Florida.

Thousands of runners were participating in the Skyway 10K around 8:45 a.m. when a BMW 335i driver traveling north on I-275 refused to stop or detour, instead driving through barriers toward the Sunshine Skyway Bridge approach where a large number of people were on foot for the race.

The driver of the BMW was able to evade one FHP cruiser attempting to stop the vehicle.

Twenty-six year veteran FHP Master Trooper Toni Schuck, 47, acting as a “last line of defense,” moved her Chevy Tahoe into position to prevent the BMW from entering the race route and striking pedestrians.

The two vehicles collided nearly head-on.

Schuck and the 52 year old BMW driver, later identified as Kristen Kay Watts, were both hospitalized with serious injuries.

Watts is facing charges of driving under the influence with serious injury, two counts of DUI with property damage, reckless driving involving injury, and property damage.

You can see the dash cam video below.