A trio of Logan Township police officers worked together late last fall to safely deal with a Plank Road motorist who was continuing to drive while incapacitated by a stroke.

Patrolmen Jason Beiler and Jacob Wagner were on roving DUI enforcement patrol near Little Caesars around 10:30 p.m. Nov. 26 when they noticed a vehicle traveling south at about 30 mph without its headlights or taillights on, according to Police Chief Devon Moran and a Thursday post on the Police Department Facebook page.

They signaled for the vehicle to stop, but it didn’t, and they called out the problem on the radio, leading the third officer, who happened to be patrolling south of their location, to identify the unlighted vehicle, slip in front of it, while also heading south, then slow to a stop, bringing the problem vehicle to a halt in the area of the Zen Leaf dispensary, three blocks after the initial sighting, according to Moran.

“Officers quickly determined that the operator was experiencing a medical emergency,” the post states. “(They) forced entry through the passenger-side window, placed the vehicle into park, unlocked the doors and rendered aid to the driver until emergency medical services arrived on scene.”

After an ambulance ride, the driver was flown to Pittsburgh where doctors found the driver had had a brain bleed and stroke, the post states.

The driver is now in stable condition and recovering in Pittsburgh, according to the post.

The driver “was conscious but disoriented,” Moran said, to explain how the vehicle was able to continue on the highway without veering off and crashing.

Due to the slow speed and fortuitous location of the third officer’s vehicle at the time, solving the problem didn’t require a “high-risk” maneuver, Moran said. Rather, “a controlled stop” sufficed, he said.

The department commended Beiler and Wagner “for their prompt response, sound judgment and dedication to public safety,” in the Facebook post. “(Their efforts) directly contributed to preventing a serious outcome,” the post stated.

The officer who brought the stroke victim’s vehicle to a stop declined to be named in the post, Moran said.

At the Mirror’s request, Moran asked one of the officers to speak to a reporter about the incident, but that officer declined, Moran said.

The Facebook post had inspired 370 comments by mid-afternoon Friday.

“Amazing work!” stated the first commenter. “Thank you everyone involved.”

Moran declined to provide demographic details on the stroke patient.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.