Three people, including an on-duty Atlanta police officer, were injured last week after his patrol vehicle struck a car that failed to yield in West Midtown, according to an incident report obtained Tuesday.
The crash happened just before 7:30 p.m. March 6 at the intersection of Chattahoochee Avenue and Defoor Place in Underwood Hills. Officer Travis Gray and two people in another vehicle all sustained non-life-threatening injuries, police confirmed.
The officer said he and his partner were traveling west on Chattahoochee Avenue that day while trying to catch up with a vehicle whose license plate they ran and appeared to “have something wrong with its registration,” according to the report.
Soon after, a red Nissan Murano tried to turn onto the road from Defoor Place and pulled in front of their vehicle at the intersection, Gray said, causing the patrol vehicle to hit the Nissan’s driver’s side.
“During the impact, the vehicle sustained disabling damage to the front and left side of the vehicle,” the officer stated in the report. “The mobile data terminal (MDT) affixed to the vehicle was destroyed from the impact as well.”
Video evidence allegedly showed the Nissan caused the wreck by failing to yield, the report added.
The driver of the Nissan was told about his court date but refused to sign the citation, police said. Last year, the Atlanta Police Department changed its policy after the death of 62-year-old church deacon Johnny Hollman, instructing officers not to arrest drivers for refusing to sign traffic citations. The department said officers will simply write “refusal to sign” on the ticket.
Gray had visible injuries to his right wrist and arms and a headache, the report stated, while the other driver complained of back and hip pain. The passengers sustained injuries to their hands.
As he was transferring his equipment following the crash, the officer noticed the trigger guard had been snapped off his patrol rifle after he cut his finger on it. His vehicle was taken to an auto shop with the MDT still inside, while the Nissan was taken to an impound lot.
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