DPS trooper pushes stalled water truck off Valley freeway

PHOENIX (FOX 10) - Trooper Dusty Clark has been with the Arizona Department of Public Safety for six years now and says he's moved cars and pickups out of the way, but never a truck this big.

"The more obstructions there are, the more backup there is, the more collisions there are," he said.

Trooper Clark says it's his job to keep Valley highways safe for motorists.

When he started his early-morning shift on Wednesday, he wasn't anticipating pushing a water truck off the Loop 202 San Tan at Dobson Road.

The driver was stuck in the middle of traffic.

"We're talking, he said the engine shut down," Trooper Clark said. "I said, 'any idea what's wrong with it?' He said no -- he had just bought the truck. He said, 'I just drove this off the lot about five minutes ago.' I said, 'man, you need to go back and get your money back.'"

ADOT tweeted a photo of Trooper Clark, saying "can't skip leg day."

DPS gave him huge props, tweeting "we're glad this trooper is on our team."

"I go up and I start pushing it and I say, 'man, take your foot off the break,'" he said. "He goes foot's not on the break. I'm like, 'OK.' I dig deep and pushed off."

Trooper Clark says if he had to, he would do it again anytime.