Authorities believe a Gordon County man was intoxicated and fleeing in the dark in a stolen van — its lights off and on the wrong side of the road — when he crashed head-on into a police cruiser over the weekend.
Sheriff’s Deputy Cameron Cartledge, 27, remained in an intensive care unit at Erlanger hospital Wednesday from injuries suffered in the crash early Saturday on U.S. Highway 41, said Gordon County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Robert Paris.
Suspect Jose Gonzalez-Reyes, 20, of Resaca, Ga., sustained lesser injuries and was transferred from an area hospital to jail Tuesday night, Paris said. He was arrested on suspicion of burglary and motor vehicle theft, Paris said.
Gonzalez-Reyes also faces charges of driving under the influence, driving on the wrong side of the road and driving without headlights in the darkness, said Georgia State Master Trooper Gary Langford.
The suspect was on probation for unrelated charges at the time of the crash.