Page 11 - Sergeant Manning News Today

The ground. >> i got hit in the chest. you know, i couldnt imagine that this was going on, thought that maybe, you know, for a second, i thought it might be some sort of training thing. >> the staff sergeant sitting across from me, he was crawling on the ground, his left shoulder was limp. i reached down toward him to ground him. i was kneeling and pulling him towards the door, i look up and i turn around to look behind me and there is mr. asawn. as soon as i looked at him, first magazine droppe...

Texas, sergeant manning and sergeant straton were under enemy fire. >> he pointed at me, 6 feet away. he squeezed a round off, so i kind of slammed to the ground with the round that went right through my left shoulder here. >> i saw everybody screeping and the blood all over and the blood on my chest. he couldnt breathe. i tried to go to the ground to take cover and i started to get shot more. i mean -- i -- i felt some bullets. >> reporter: a fellow soldier, 39-year-old nidal hassan was armed w...

Go. >> reporter: six months after joining and with the rank of private second class, straton was assigned to the 36th engineering brigade, located at fort hood. >> i was really looking forward to going to fort hood, even though i knew nothing about it -- like i know now. >> reporter: he was 18 years old and his wish was coming true. his unit was scheduled to deploy to afghanistan. >> i was right excited. couldnt wait to go. loved going to get the extra gear and everything, learn how to use it. b...

Standing only a couple feet away. >> and there was a tremendous bang and i saw it out of the corner my eye, my car just going up and back and it felt like it was traveling right over my head. it was an eerie feeling. >> the speeding van crushes mannings police cruiser, car parts and glass flying in every direction. the car is sent spinning out of control, into the middle of the road, barely missing the other cruiser recording the incident. >> i was looking around at my other fellow police office...

>> i move toward the back of my police car, as i see the suspect vehicle has crossed the center line now, aiming right for my car. i didnt want to run out to the left or to the right and get run over, so i just waited till the suspect vehicle was committed in one direction. >> the van is barreling toward the officer at a tremendous speed, showing no signs of slowing down. with the vehicle right in front of him and with almost no time to react, manning makes a split-second decision and jumps into...

Of a gauntlet for the approach of the suspect. >> the suspect is racing toward them at more than 80 miles an hour. manning and his fellow officers are in position and after waving through another driver they lay spike strips down across the highway. >> in the ideal situation to deploy the spikes is in an area where you have guardrails or bridge abutments or some area where you can funnel the suspects car into and still provide yourself with some cover, should the car try to go a different direct...

An idaho state trooper, attempting to stop a car chase in progress, narrowly escapes death on the side of the road. >> just looked at my car and it was completely demolished and i was just relieved that i was alive and still in one piece. >> sergeant matt manning thought hed seen everything in his almost 25 years in law enforcement. but a call to the fort hall indian reservation almost becomes his last. >> i was at the state police office in pocatello and we received a call requesting assistance...

>> minutes after he escaped death, manning and the other officers gather round to watch the dramatic video playback from the police car. >> when i saw the video, i realized how close the situation was and how fortunate i was to be alive and still able to walk around after the crash. >> in a surprising twist to the story, the crash is not mannings last run-in with the suspect, who was later convicted of aggravated battery. >> we stopped a car for a problem with their license plates and it was at ...

Death, manning and the other officers gather round to watch the dramatic video playback from the police car. >> when i saw the video, i realized how close the situation was and how fortunate i was to be alive and still able to walk around after the crash. >> in a surprising twist to the story, the crash is not mannings last run-in with the suspect, who was later convicted of aggravated battery. >> we stopped a car for a problem with their license plates and it was at night. i walked up to the ca...

It was an eerie feeling. >> the speeding van crushes mannings police cruiser, car parts and glass flying in every direction. the collision sends the van spinning out of control, into the middle of the road, barely missing the other cruiser recording the incident. >> after the collision i realized i was okay. i was looking around at my other fellow police officers making sure everybody was all right. >> incredibly, no officers were hurt during the impact. as other units arrive on the scene, the t...