Accused Drunk Driver Crashes Into Alpharetta Cop Car

ALPHARETTA, GA — A man suspected of driving under the influence is accused of striking the vehicle of an Alpharetta officer investigating a two-car crash late Saturday on Mansell Road. The officer was working an accident near Duke Road around 11:44 p.m. Saturday, July 7 when a blue 200 Toyota Corolla struck the patrol car from behind. The cop's vehicle had its blue emergency lights activated when the driver of the Corolla collided into the police car.

According to an incident report released by the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety, the officer, who was not injured, said she heard a "crunch," turned around and saw the Toyota come to a stop. She requested backup for another officer to investigate the secondary crash.

That cop arrived at the scene and noticed "several opened cans of Coors Light beer" were scattered across the back seat of the Toyota, the incident report adds. When asked what happened, the driver of the Toyota, Kurt Thomas Vanorden, 25, of Jefferson, said he "tried to get around you guys," according to the report.

"I didn't see you coming," he allegedly told the officer. "Somebody went into the other lane. I didn't even see you guys."

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The officer made note in the report that the Alpharetta patrol car had its emergency lights activated and the vehicle was not moving at the time of the crash. When asked to clarify his statements, Vanorden said he did not want to say anything else without a lawyer. The Alpharetta officer told Vanorden that he was only conducting an investigation when the driver allegedly said, "You understand I clipped a cop car. I'm obviously under arrest."

While speaking, the officer noted a smell of alcohol coming from Vanorden's breath and the smell "became stronger the more he spoke and the longer I stood near him." Vanorden was asked if he was willing to participate in evaluations to determine if he was driving under the influence. According to the report, Vanorden said, "There's nothing I can say that hasn't already been said."

"I'm not the type of person to hit a f----- cop car," he allegedly said.

When told the field sobriety test was an attempt by the officer to "alleviate my concerns," Vanorden agreed to undergo the test. Following the test, the officer concluded Vanorden was "under the influence of alcohol to the extend he was a less-safe driver." Vanorden was handcuffed and placed in the back of the police car.

One can of beer was found behind the driver's seat and was about a quarter full, the officer noted in the report. Vanorden was charged with DUI alcohol (less safe), failure to move over and open container. A passenger who was inside the Toyota at the time of the collision was taken to a nearby convenience store so she could obtain another method of transportation.

On its Facebook page, the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety used the incident as another example of why motorists should never drive under the influence and "you should move over when you see emergency lights."

Saturday's crash is another in a series of accidents involving drivers suspected to be under the influence crashing into police vehicles on public roadways. In mid-June, a Douglasville woman was charged with DUI after she crashed into a Sandy Springs police car along Interstate 285. The Sandy Springs officer was assisting a stranded motorist when another vehicle plowed into the patrol car, an agency spokesperson previously told Patch.

In January 2017, a 47-year-old woman was charged with hit-and-run after she struck a Sandy Springs officer conducting a traffic stop along Roswell Road near Morgan Falls Road. In December 2016, a 38-year-old Smyrna resident was charged with DUI after plowing into two SSPD cars along I-285 at the exit ramp to Peachtree Dunwoody Road.

In November 2017, a Forsyth County sheriff's deputy was stationed inside his patrol vehicle on Ga. 400 when he was hit by a suspected drunk driver. In the same month, an Alpharetta police patrol car was rear-ended by another driver suspected to be under the influence.

In October 2017, a 35-year-old driver was charged with DUI after sideswiping a Roswell officer's vehicle on Holcomb Bridge Road. The officer was assisting Roswell fire crews with traffic management when the collision was reported.

A woman was also charged with DUI after she allegedly rear-ended an Alpharetta police car on Ga. 400. The officer was in a fully-marked patrol vehicle around 4:30 a.m. Sept. 28 on the northbound side at Mansell Road when the accident took place.

Image via Alpharetta Department of Public Safety