A Fairburn police officer injured in a crash while on duty is out of the hospital and resting at home.
Investigators say a tractor-trailer slammed into the officer's car as he was stopped in the second lane from the median.
Officer Timothy Jared "T.J." Giddens was blocking traffic on I-85 because of a rollover accident when police say Bobby Quinton, a driver for Li-Way Transfer and Storage, slammed into the back of Giddens patrol car.
“(The) tractor-trailer didn’t jack knife, no skidding, it was just a straight on hit,” said Fairburn police Sgt. Anthony Bazydlo.
Giddens was banged up and bruised, but is now back home and expected to make a full recovery. Bazydlo said, luckily, Giddens was wearing his seatbelt, which likely saved his life.
“The officer did have time to look up saw the tractor-trailer coming directly at him and hit with significant force,” Bazydlo said.
Quinton, 57, was cited for not moving over and driving too fast for conditions.
Channel 2’s Liz Artz spoke to Quinton hours after the accident. He says he was rear ended by another big rig, causing him to hit the officer. He says the truck’s paint is on his trailer and will come out in the accident report.
Quinton told Artz he’s been driving for 37 years and spent the past two years hauling paper on the same route from Atlanta to Montgomery, Alabama, and back.
“I know what I’m doing. I’ve been driving trucks 37 years. I’ve been on this route more than 2 years. I didn’t fall asleep,” Quinton said.
He says he’s been concerned for the officer since the crash.
“I’ve checked on him as much as I could last night,” Quinton said.
Quinton says his company hasn’t finished its investigation yet, so he couldn’t comment more.
The state patrol says they have no reason to believe Quinton was impaired in anyway.
Giddens is not expected to be back at work for several weeks.
