EAST POINT, Ga. — A local police chief says one of his officers had to run for his life after a tractor-trailer came speeding towards him as he worked an accident on Interstate 285.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Two East Point officers were injured and taken to the hospital, but are doing OK.
East Point Police Chief Shawn Buchanan says his officers are lucky they survived.
“They were running for their lives,” Buchanan explained.
It happened after five on Wednesday morning on I-285 southbound near Camp Creek Parkway.
“They could have easily died,” Buchanan told Channel 2′s Tom Jones.
The officers were working an accident with their emergency lights on.
“One officer looked and saw the tractor-trailer coming and noticed it was not slowing down,” Buchanan explained.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Laken Riley murder: Jose Ibarra found guilty, sentenced to life in prison without parole
- Family says 21-year-old was missing. Turns out he was on the run for molestation charge
- 13 arrested during undercover sex trafficking sting in central Georgia
Chief Buchanan says one officer took off running.
“The tractor-trailer struck the vehicles and when it struck the vehicles it caused one of the vehicles to strike the officer running,” Buchanan said.
The officer was trapped underneath the patrol unit. He suffered leg injuries.
Police say the truck also hit an officer’s patrol car with an officer inside. He suffered back injuries.
A third officer escaped harm.
Buchanan says the driver was speeding, and may have been impaired or asleep at the wheel. He says 18-wheelers are not supposed to be in the fast lane where the crash happened.
“He had no business being in the lane in the first place,” he said.
The crash left traffic bottlenecked for hours. Channel 2 Action News spoke to one driver while she was stuck in it.
“People are getting out of their cars but most people have gotten back in because we’ve been out here close to three hours,” the driver said.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Buchanan says this is something his officers won’t soon forget.
“They’re kind of shaken up mentally and physically,” he said.
The two officers were treated and released from the hospital.
The driver was cited for going too fast for conditions, a Move Over Law violation and prohibited lane usage by trucks.