An Atlanta police officer was hospitalized on Thursday morning after being struck by a car while conducting a traffic stop with their motorcycle on I-75. The situation occurred at I-75 North and Cleveland Avenue when the officer attempted to pull over a Chevrolet Impala in the far-left HOV lane. Instead of pulling over on the right-hand shoulder as is the proper place to stop when being pulled over by the police, the driver of the Impala instead came to a stop on the left shoulder near the concrete barrier in an area that did not allow the driver ample room to pull their vehicle completely off the roadway. The officer stopped to the right of the Impala in the second lane from the barrier.
The driver of a Hummer had been travelling in the HOV lane but began using the second lane from the barrier in order to pass other vehicles as traffic slowed for the motorcycle officer and the Impala. The driver of the Hummer did not immediately see the officer and by the time they attempted to veer out of the way, it was too late. The Hummer struck the officer, knocking them from the motorcycle before coming to a stop in the HOV lane. Subsequently, a Toyota Tacoma that had been traveling in the HOV lane behind the Impala crashed into the Impala and was rear-ended by a Chevrolet Tahoe. Both the officer and a passenger in the Tahoe were transported to Grady Hospital with injuries.
Car accidents are often not so simple as to have one source of liability and one injured party. Often — particularly in accidents occurring in high volume areas such as I-75 — there will be multiple sources of liability. An experienced car accident attorney from Cambre & Associates can help you determine who was liable for your accident and provide additional services to assist you with claiming compensation for the expenses and impacts of your injury. For a free case evaluation with our attorney, contact us online.