By Sarah Roebuck
Police1
EAST POINT, Ga. — East Point Police Chief Shawn Buchanan expressed gratitude that his officers are alive after a semitruck crashed into three cruisers, injuring two officers, WXIA reports.
The crash happened on I-285 early Nov. 20. Three cruisers from the East Point Police Department were parked “first lane from the concrete median wall while responding to an incident with their emergency lights activated” when the semitruck 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,” according to the Georgia Highway State Patrol.
At the time of the crash, one officer was still in his patrol vehicle and another officer was attempting to flee on foot but “fell and was ran over by his own vehicle,” the police department said.
“The impact of the 18-wheeler striking the patrol vehicles caused an officer to be trapped underneath the vehicle,” Buchanan told WXIA said, adding that it dragged him.
The third officer on the scene was able to escape serious injuries by running into oncoming traffic, the department said.
“When you look at it, it’s by the grace of God that they’re alive,” Buchanan told WXIA.
The two officers were transported to the hospital for further evaluation of non-life-threatening injuries.
The semitruck driver faces charges for driving too fast for conditions, violating the move-over law and improper lane usage on multi-lane highways restricted for trucks.
The crash occurred during Crash Responder Safety Week, observed from Nov. 18-22, which emphasizes the importance of slowing down, moving over and ensuring the safety of first responders working in dangerous roadside conditions.