One man was arrested and a suspected drunken driver remains at large after running away from a crash with an Atlanta police patrol car that sent an officer to the hospital, authorities said.
The crash happened around 11:40 p.m. Sunday near the intersection of Lakewood Avenue and Pecan Drive in southwest Atlanta, police said. It’s not clear what led to the crash, but when other officers arrived, they found their fellow officer suffering from a minor head injury.
The officer was taken to the hospital, and witnesses told police the driver abandoned the car and ran away. Two other passengers were in the vehicle when it crashed, and one also ran away while the other remained at the scene, Channel 2 Action News reported. Georgia State Patrol troopers and an APD K-9 unit responded to assist in the investigation, police said.
After a brief search, one man was found hiding in a nearby wooded area, according to police. He told investigators he had run away because he is not a U.S. citizen.
That passenger, 38, was charged with an open container violation due to open cans of alcohol found in the wrecked vehicle. He was taken to the Atlanta city jail, and police did not share further details about his charges or immigration status.
Investigators could not find the driver and the suspect’s vehicle was impounded as evidence, police said. GSP will handle the investigation, which remains open as authorities continue to search for the driver.
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