Atlanta

Police officer out of hospital after crashing into power pole

ATLANTA — An Atlanta police officer is recovering after crashing into a power pole and landing in the bottom of a ditch in the woods off the side of the road.

Atlanta police said an officer was responding to a stolen vehicle call when he lost traction while rounding a curve of Joseph E. Boone Boulevard near West Chester Boulevard.

Atlanta police said the officer drove off the road and hit a utility pole, which caused a power outage that left nearly 400 Georgia Power customers in the dark. It happened just after 3 a.m. Wednesday.


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Channel 2’s Steve Gehlbach was there as crews worked to restore power after the crash.

Joseph E. Boone Boulevard was closed while they worked in the area, and reopened around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, when power for nearly 400 homes in the neighborhood was restored .

Gehlbach walked to the wooded area where he saw the patrol car in the woods.

He was also there as the patrol car was pulled out of the woods and towed away from the 
ditch, which took nearly 30 minutes.

He talked to a driver who was glad the officer is OK, but who got stuck in backed-up traffic when the road closed.

“Just in Atlanta, it’s one of those things that happens. You have to be ready for traffic to be a little crazy and that’s the way it is this morning. So as long as everyone packs their patience, I think we’ll be fine,” driver Kim Sheridan said.

MARTA buses were rerouted during the road closure.

The Atlanta Police Department officer checked into the hospital for head and back pain, but he was released and came back to his smashed car to remove his belongings.

Wrecker trying again to pull APD car up from embankment

Posted by Steve Gehlbach on Wednesday, February 21, 2018