Deputy Involved in Two-Car Accident

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

Photo courtesy of KWN Media – KWN Media captured a photo of the two-vehicle accident scene on the afternoon of July 24.

On the afternoon of July 24, a Dade County Sheriff’s Office deputy was involved in a two-car accident just north of Clark Lumber Road on Highway 11. The officer was responding to a call at the north end of the county when the collision occurred between the 2013 Ford Explorer patrol car and a Chevrolet Silverado.

Georgia State Patrol was called to handle the investigation. The GSP crash report noted that the officer was driving with lights and sirens activated while heading north on Highway 11. The report explained the incident: The pick-up truck was traveling north, ahead of the deputy, and the deputy attempted to pass the truck. The truck started to turn left into a driveway without using a turning signal, and when returning to the northbound lane, the front of the patrol car hit the rear of the truck. The driver of the truck said he did not hear or see the deputy’s car.

Chief Deputy Tommy Bradford reported that both drivers were treated for minor injuries.

The GSP Public Information Office reported that the officer’s “speed was not calculated.”

Bradford explained that officers are allowed to drive above the speed limit when responding to calls, but they must use “due regard.” GSP repeated that “first responders must use due regard traveling as an emergency vehicle.”