Man arrested on DUI charges after hitting officer investigating deadly crash

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A man was arrested on DUI charges after hitting an officer investigating a deadly motorcycle crash.

The crash had all lanes of Interstate 75 northbound closed at the north loop (exit 265) in Marietta. They reopened just after 5 a.m.

Marietta police said the initial on-scene investigation revealed that a 2007 Honda Shadow motorcycle, driven by a 39-year-old man, was traveling northbound on I-75 and collided with a 2016 GMC Sierra pickup driven by Dominique Higgs of Flowery Branch, Georgia.

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The motorcycle then hit the center median wall and the driver was thrown from it.  He was later pronounced dead at the scene.

Police identified the victim as Benjamin Clark, 39, of Acworth.

Officer Gwen Lewis stopped to help the motorcyclist and was hit from behind while she sat inside her vehicle.

Lewis is sore but was able to walk away from the crash.

"She was able to joke with me, but she was rattled and her words were shaken," Officer Chuck McPhilamy said.

The driver of the 2013 BMW 328XI that struck the patrol vehicle, 26-year-old Trenten Baldwin, was arrested and charged with failure to yield to an emergency vehicle and driving under the influence of alcohol.

After receiving medical treatment at Kennestone Hospital, Baldwin was transported to Cobb County Adult Detention Center.

The Marietta Police Department’s S.T.E.P. Unit is still actively investigating the collision.

Cox Media Group