By Jennifer Edwards
The Cincinnati Enquirer

CAMP WASHINGTON - Cincinnati Police Officer Jerry Enneking was supposed to get off work at 10 a.m. Thanksgiving Day.

But as rain beat down Thursday morning, accidents began piling up. So the 15-year Cincinnati police veteran kept working.

Enneking's next call put extra meaning in the word "Thanksgiving.''

He was hit not once but twice while investigating a crash in Camp Washington on the ramp to westbound Interstate 74 from northbound Interstate 75. And, in a minor miracle, Enneking - father of two boys, 9 and 7, and a 21/2-year-old daughter - escaped with minor ankle and knee injuries.

"That was a double whammy. I am very fortunate," Enneking, 38, said late Thursday.

Before Enneking got out of his cruiser at the crash site shortly after noon, a vehicle struck the rear of his marked police car, which was parked on the berm.

He called for a police supervisor and additional officers. Then he got out of the cruiser to check on the other motorists.

That's when another car came westbound down the ramp "going way too fast," he said. "They weren't going to be able to stop."

"I started to run to the front of the cruiser and that's when I got hit," Enneking said.

Videotape from the cruiser shows Enneking was thrown over the hood of his car and, after landing on the pavement, slid under another car.

Despite the day's rough start, Enneking was able to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with his family later in the day.

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E-mail: jedwards@enquirer.com