Witnesses help pull Atlanta officer out of burning patrol vehicle after crash
An Atlanta police officer was seriously injured after crashing his patrol vehicle into a house near Bankhead late Monday, officials said.
According to authorities, the officer was headed to a call just after 8 p.m. from another officer requesting help amid a fight with someone being arrested. That scene was on Sunset Avenue, just two blocks from the crash, police said.
The officer lost control of the vehicle when he reached the intersection of James P. Brawley Drive and North Avenue, according to the Georgia State Patrol, which is investigating the crash. The car then crashed into the back of a house on that corner lot, said Atlanta Deputy Chief Charles Hampton Jr.
The area is just west of Northside Drive and south of Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway.
Inside the house, the officer’s vehicle caught fire, though firefighters extinguished it in a matter of minutes, authorities said. But in the moments before fire crews arrived, several witnesses helped contain the flames and pull the officer from his vehicle, officials confirmed.
Once he was out, the officer was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital in critical condition. An update on his status was not immediately provided Tuesday morning.
“We are extremely grateful for those citizens to assist the officer, put themselves also in harm’s way,” Hampton told reporters at the scene.
One person was inside the house at the time of the crash, but that person was able to get out of the home and assist in removing the injured officer from the patrol car, officials said.
“The fire, as far as it spreading inside the house, is very limited,” said fire department spokesperson Capt. Andrew Anderson.
It’s not clear what caused the crash.
Atlanta police said the person whose fight with the other officer prompted the initial call was eventually taken into custody.
