A Varnell, Ga., police officer crashed his patrol car into another vehicle, throwing the other driver onto the pavement.A Varnell, Ga., police officer is back on the job today after crashing his patrol car into another vehicle, throwing the other driver onto the pavement.
Chief Lyle Grant placed 48-year-old Patrick John Hayes on administrative leave on May 22, the day after his car collided with a civilian’s vehicle on Cleveland Highway near Broadacre Road in Dalton, Ga. A Georgia State Patrol preliminary report blames Hayes for the crash, saying he cut off the other driver while trying to turn.
However, Grant said the crash was not his officer’s fault. He said Hayes flipped his emergency lights on before the crash. He had been on the side of the road, assisting another officer who was making an arrest.
Then, from the right edge of the street, Hayes tried to turn left, crossing two southbound lanes to get to the northbound side of Cleveland Highway. The other driver must not have seen the police lights, Grant said.
That information is not in the preliminary report, but on Thursday Cpl. Mitchell Moss confirmed Grant’s version of events.