Scott County Deputy Nick Adler had just put his canine, Riley, away after helping a Carver County deputy conduct a narcotics search and walked back toward the suspect vehicle when he heard squealing tires and watched another vehicle cross all lanes of traffic and slam into his parked car.

The dog escaped harm, as did the driver of the oncoming vehicle, who told officers she lost control of her vehicle when the cars in front of her merged to avoid the squad cars, said Scott County sheriff’s Sgt. Bob Mulvehill.

The woman apparently overcorrected and fishtailed, hitting the driver’s side of the Scott County squad car.

The incident occurred June 6 in Carver County during the Safe & Sober enforcement campaign. At about 2:30 p.m., a Carver County deputy made a traffic stop on a vehicle heading eastbound on Highway 212 just west of Highway 101.

After talking to the driver, the deputy became suspicious that the vehicle may have contraband drugs and requested permission to search the vehicle. The driver granted permission, according to Chief Deputy Bob VanDenBroeke. Carver County’s K-9 unit was not on duty, so Scott County assisted.

The Scott County deputy arrived with the K-9 and parked behind a second Carver County squad. The Scott County squad was on the shoulder of the roadway to the right side of the fog line with its emergency lights activated, VanDenBroeke said. All three deputies were out of their vehicles and up by the original vehicle when they heard squealing tires and looked up to see an eastbound car approaching them out of control.

The out-of-control car hit the gravel on the left shoulder of the road, overcorrected and skidded back across the left shoulder, across both eastbound lanes and struck the Scott County squad parked on the right shoulder. The car then slid across the driver’s side of the Scott County squad and came to rest against the rear of the second Carver County squad car.

The old Scott County K-9 car sustained moderate damage, but was deemed totaled because of the cost to repair it. The Carver County vehicle had minor damage.

The State Patrol is investigating the crash.

Scott County’s drug dog did alert on several areas of the original vehicle, VanDenBroeke said. However, no drugs were located so the driver and passenger were released.

– Richard Crawford and Shannon Fiecke