Off-Duty Officer Accused Of Drunken Driving

Kevin Fortmann, 22, of Duluth, said he's lucky to be alive after a near head-on collision with an off-duty police officer accused of drunken driving.

"I’m just glad to be here still ... got a second life it feels like," Fortmann said.

Fortmann showed Channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh pictures of what's left of his Jeep Wrangler after the crash that occurred around 3 a.m. Saturday. Gwinnett County police told Kavanaugh that Fortmann was going north on Sugarloaf Parkway in Lawrenceville when a driver coming the other way turned left in front of him onto Highway 29.

"Officers that investigated the accident found out one of the drivers, the one who was found at fault for the accident, was a DeKalb County police officer," said Gwinnett County police Cpl. Edward Ritter.

Ritter said it was a near head-on collision.

Fortmann told Kavanaugh that he did not remember much about the accident except for a bump and a man, likely a witness, telling him to stay calm.

According to a police report Kavanaugh obtained, when questioned, Williams told the investigator he drank "a couple of beers and some water." He was charged with failure to obey a traffic device and DUI.

"Is that harder to take that it was a police officer?” Kavanaugh asked. “A little bit, but it could have been anybody," said Fortmann.

Fortmann pointed out staples on the top and back of his head as a result of the crash.

According to DeKalb County police, Williams has been a police officer for nearly five years. He is currently on restrictive duties pending an internal investigation.

According to the police report, officers also found an empty beer can inside Fortmann's Jeep. He told investigators it belonged to a friend earlier in the evening. He submitted to a blood test at the hospital. Results are pending.