Crash injures 2 East Point officers, shuts down I-285 for hours
Investigators believe a speeding tractor-trailer driver caused a crash that injured two East Point police officers on I-285 southbound near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Wednesday morning.
The wreck caused a traffic jam that stretched for miles and clogged the interstate for about four hours, the Georgia State Patrol said. Just after 11 a.m., all lanes had reopened.
Police Chief Shawn Buchanan said his officers were investigating a crash near Camp Creek Parkway around 5 a.m. when the truck slammed into them.
There were “three police vehicles with blue lights. You can see that from two miles away at five o’clock in the morning,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Shortly after noon, the two injured officers had been treated and released from Grady Memorial Hospital, Buchanan said.
“They’re doing good,” he said. “Continue to pray for their recovery.”
One officer was inside his vehicle when the truck hit it, Buchanan said. Another officer was standing outside his cruiser and tried to run, but fell and was run over by his patrol car, police said. The third officer was uninjured, but all three cruisers were destroyed.
Investigators believe the driver of the tractor-trailer, whose name was not released, was speeding, according to the state patrol, which is investigating the crash. The tractor-trailer was not legally allowed to drive in the lane next to the median, police said.
“The tractor-trailer driver was traveling too fast for roadway conditions and failed to move over for emergency vehicles before striking all three patrol vehicles and the concrete median wall,” GSP said. “The impact caused one of the patrol vehicles to strike one of the officers on foot.”
The driver of the big rig was charged with driving too fast for conditions, a move-over law violation and prohibited lane usage by trucks using multilane highways, the state patrol said.
“He never slowed down,” Buchanan said.
Buchanan said he feared the worst after seeing the mangled patrol cars.
“I thank God they’re alive,” he said.
At the crash site, at least two police cruisers could be seen with their hoods popped open and one had its back end crumpled. A trail of debris was scattered behind the big rig.
Nearly 22 years ago, an East Point officer was killed in the same area when he was hit by several vehicles while he and another officer attempted to arrest a suspect along I-285. Christopher Betts, 26, died Dec. 22, 2002, in the crash, which also killed the suspect and critically injured another officer, the AJC previously reported. Betts, a U.S. Army veteran, was married with a 7-week-old son when he was killed.
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John Spink is a multi-platform photojournalist with the breaking news team. He provides compelling photos, video and audio from breaking news events for the AJC and media partners WSB Channel 2 Action News & WSB Radio
