Athens officer recovering after fleeing suspect crashes into patrol car, cops say
An Athens police officer was stopped at a traffic light early Monday morning when a high-speed pursuit in a neighboring county nearly led to his death, authorities said.
Sgt. Paul Davidson was seriously injured after the fleeing suspect crashed into his stationary patrol car, Athens police said in a news release. According to police, firefighters used the “Jaws of Life” hydraulic extrication tools to get Davidson out of his crushed cruiser.
The incident began late Sunday night when Henry Daniel Greene, 25, of Winder, sped away from an attempted traffic stop in Barrow County, investigators told the Athens Banner-Herald. Greene’s Ford pickup truck had a busted tail light, which was the reason for the attempted stop, deputies said.
The chase took place along Atlanta Highway and reached speeds up to 105 mph, the newspaper reported. A little after midnight, the chase entered Clarke County.
Deputies said Greene tried to drive around a car that was stopped at Mitchell Bridge Road. However, he struck a Dodge Challenger, losing control and crashing into Davidson’s patrol car, authorities said.
There were three people inside of Greene’s pickup when deputies got to the truck, but no one was in the driver’s seat, the Banner-Herald reported. Greene initially denied being behind the wheel, but later admitted that he was the driver, authorities said.
All three people in the truck were taken to Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center with minor injuries. Deputies said Greene fled the attempted traffic stop because he thought there was a warrant for his arrest, but he now faces charges in both counties. His charges in Clarke are pending, but he faces counts of attempting to elude police and reckless driving in Barrow, the Banner-Herald reported.
After Davidson was cut out of the patrol car, he was taken to the same hospital with serious injuries, the department said. He has since been released and is recovering at home, police said.
The Georgia State Patrol investigated the crash and said the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office will file additional charges related to the pursuit, according to a GSP crash report.
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Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He's been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people's lives.
