Wrecks by Atlanta city employees costing taxpayers

ATLANTA — Channel 2 Action News discovered dozens of cases in Atlanta where taxpayers could be on the hook for accidents caused by city employees who were at fault.
 
A city legal department investigation found Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran failed to keep a safe distance behind a car on Edgewood Avenue in October.

The crash sent an Atlanta man to Grady Memorial Hospital, according to a city legal department investigation obtained by Channel 2 Action News.
 
Now, the city may be on the hook for a more than $3,000 settlement with the victim.
 
"He leads by example.  He can't discipline himself, so I would expect he will want to hold himself to level of excellence he has set for everyone else," said Atlanta City Council Member Michael Julian Bond.
 
Bond said these types of accidents, finding city drivers negligent, are surprisingly common with a fleet of thousands of cars.
 
Bond said, "Every two weeks, we are literally paying out thousands of dollars of claims."
 
Channel 2 Action News discovered the city found 18 employees negligent in accidents since January.  They could end up costing taxpayers about $50,000.
 
With the mounting claims Bond said it may be time for more training.
 
Bond said, "There is more training that needs to take place for all of our drivers, regardless of which department they are in."
 
A spokesperson for the fire chief said she has no comment.
 
The public safety committee is set to vote to approve the chief's settlement, and a handful of others, during Tuesday's meeting.

WSBTV