Serving 26 years as a DeKalb County police officer wasn’t enough for Elgin L. Daniel. He wasn’t done.
“He was too young to retire,” older brother Edward Daniel told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He figured he’d go back for a few more years, then call it quits for good.”
Two years ago, Elgin Daniel went to work as an officer for the smaller Henry County Police Department. Monday night, Daniel’s life and career came to a tragic end when he was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver.
As they were helping a stranded motorist on North Henry Boulevard in Stockbridge, Elgin and John Cook, a 58-year-old roadside assistance worker, were hit by a driver in a large Ford truck that never stopped.
Both Elgin, 52, and Cook were transported to Atlanta Medical Center, where Elgin died. Cook’s injuries were not life-threatening.
As family members, friends and fellow officers grieved for Elgin, investigators asked for the public’s help in locating the person responsible, as well as any additional witnesses. Late Tuesday, police were still looking for the driver of a 1997 to 2007 Ford F-250 or F-350 pickup truck with extendable mirrors. The truck, which has front-end and front-driver’s side damage, was last seen traveling eastbound on Ga. 138 toward Rockdale County, police said.
Daniel is the third police officer killed in the line of duty in the metro Atlanta area recently. On Nov. 3, two Atlanta Police Department officers, Richard J. Halford, 48, and Shawn A. Smiley, 40, died when their helicopter crashed into power lines.
And Daniel’s brother says his family worried about his job, but could not have imagined his life would be taken in an instant.
“When he first became a cop, he got into a scuffle and had his jaw broken,” Edward Daniel said Tuesday afternoon. “You always worry about that, that something’s going to happen.”
As one of five siblings in a close-knit family, Elgin Daniel was the only officer, but it was a job that suited him. After attending Slater Elementary and the former Price High School in southwest Atlanta, Elgin Daniel attended college for two years before picking a career, his brother said.
“It turned out to be his calling because he was pretty good at it,” Edward Daniel said.
When not working, Elgin Daniel was devoted to his family, including his wife and three adult children. When his two boys were younger, Elgin Daniel spent summers coaching their baseball teams, his brother said.
“He was just a good man,” Edward Daniel said.
On Tuesday, colleagues from both Henry and DeKalb counties remembered Elgin Daniel.
DeKalb County Interim Police Chief Lisa Gassner, in a statement, extended her condolences to Daniel’s family and to Henry police.
“He left an indelible mark on the hearts and minds of his fellow officers,” Gassner said. “He will forever be remembered as a man who always encouraged others to challenge themselves and strive to live a life of excellence.”
John Soublis, whose home is near the accident scene, was placing flowers and a U.S. flag in his front yard Tuesday to honor Daniel.
Soublis said he was sitting on his front porch when he heard the crash. He ran to the scene and saw Daniel lying in the road and not moving.
“His gun had been knocked out of his holster,” Soublis said.
A shaken Gordon Jarrett, the motorist Elgin and Cook were assisting, ran up to tell him what had happened, Soublis said.
“I have heard of hit-and-runs, seen them on TV, but a police officer … I can’t imagine that person not stopping,” Soublis said. “You can see them blue lights for a long way off. There’s no sense in going that fast on a rainy night in the dark. It’s just senseless, but you see it all the time.”
The Henry County Police Department offered a $1,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the runaway driver. Tuesday afternoon, the Georgia State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police added $5,000 to the reward fund. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Henry County Police or the Georgia State Patrol.
Funeral arrangements for Elgin Daniel were pending Tuesday night. In addition to his brother, Edward, wife, Teresa, two sons and a daughter, Daniel is survived by his mother, Conolia Daniel, another brother and two sisters.
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