A Sandy Springs Police officer suffered injuries that briefly hospitalized her Jan. 28 when a motorist on I-285 struck her patrol vehicle as she investigated an accident.
The officer was investigating a vehicle crash on the westbound lanes of I-285 at Roswell Road when a driver in an unrelated vehicle struck her patrol car, according to the Sandy Springs Police Department. The officer had her vehicle’s emergency lights active, which were fully visible, SSPD reported.
The officer was taken to the hospital and released after several hours.
The driver whose vehicle struck hers was cited with distracted driving, failure to maintain lane and violation of a law requiring drivers to move a lane away from emergency vehicles when possible.
This was the third accident in which SSPD patrol cars were damaged and officers injured in a little over four months. Collisions in September and October were blamed on motorists suspected of driving under the influence, while the most recent crash was blamed on distracted driving.
On Sept. 12, a patrol car protecting a lane closure on Ga. 400 near Hammond Drive in a lane closure was struck by a vehicle. That driver allegedly fled the scene but was arrested soon after on charges that included DUI. The officer was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
On Oct. 28, an SSPD officer and his police dog required medical treatment after a suspected drunk driver struck their vehicle on I-285 near Peachtree-Dunwoody Road in another lane-closure zone.