Charges pending against driver who hit, killed DeKalb officer, GSP says

ATLANTA — A veteran Dekalb County police officer is dead after being hit by a vehicle on the Downtown Connector while working a crash involving a fellow officer.

Police said the incident happened around 9 a.m. near the Williams Street exit. Police said Sgt. Daniel Mobley, a 22-year veteran of the department, was investigating the crash involving another DeKalb County officer in a squad car. Mobley was rushed to the hospital, where he died.

Georgia State Patrol said the driver of a silver Ford Focus lost control of his vehicle while negotiating a left-hand curve. The Focus hit a concrete barrier wall before hitting Mobley and his patrol car.

Both Mobley and the driver of the Focus where taken to the hospital. The driver of the Focus had minor injuries.

Georgia State Patrol said that charges are pending against the driver.

Channel 2′s Michael Seiden learned that Mobley was just 44 years old and the father to a son.

The interstate was closed for several hours into the afternoon on Saturday while accident investigators worked the scene.

DeKalb County police said in a news conference Saturday afternoon that Georgia State Patrol is investigating both crashes and would not say if the driver is facing any charges.

“Sometimes we get distracted, and distracted driving can cost a life,” DeKalb Police Chief Mirtha Ramos said. “And that’s what happened today.”

Ramos called Mobley a “highly-respected supervisor” who had been with the department since 1998 and was promoted to sergeant in 2017.

Ramos said officers who weren’t even on duty today showed up at the hospital to pay their respects.

“When you have officers flying into the hospital not even in uniform because it’s their day off to show their respect, that means he’s earned that respect,” Ramos said.

Outside of work, police said Mobley was a devoted family man who was a big fan of Ford vehicles and loved to work on his cars in his spare time.

Mobley’s body was escorted from the hospital to the medical examiner’s office Saturday afternoon.

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Numerous metro Atlanta police departments expressed their condolences after the accident.

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