FAIRBURN, Ga. (AP) – A man in a pickup truck ran over a Georgia police officer early Monday, seriously injuring him, and authorities from Atlanta to Memphis, Tennessee, are looking for the driver, police said.
Fairburn Officer Levar Sims underwent surgery after he was hit early Monday and is expected to recover fully, Deputy Chief Anthony Bazydlo said.
News agencies report the man – a 33-year-old who rented the truck in the Memphis area, about 330 miles (530 km) from the Atlanta suburb of Fairburn – has been identified but remains at large.
“We’ve widened our net and are reaching out to every law enforcement agency from here to Memphis,” Bazydlo told WXIA-TV.
He said an officer on routine patrol outside a hotel saw a sleeping man in a running truck and called for backup. Bazydlo said both the first officer and Sims smelled marijuana and alcohol.