Accused Drunk Driver Crashes Into Sandy Springs Police Car

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — A driver has been charged with a slew of traffic offenses, including DUI and violating Georgia's Move Over Law, after crashing into a Sandy Springs police car early Sunday morning.

The collision occurred around 2 a.m. June 17 on I-285 near Glenridge Drive, the police department said. The officer was assisting a stranded motorist when another vehicle plowed into the patrol car, an agency spokesperson said.

Fortunately the officer was not in the vehicle at the time of the collision and did not sustain any injuries. The driver, identified as Yekaterina Curry, 30, of Douglasville, is charged with DUI, failure to maintain lane, habitual violator, driving with a suspended license and violating Georgia's Move Over Law.

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Sandy Springs Police shared a photo of the mangled patrol car on its Facebook page to remind its followers why the Move Over Law is in place.

"In case you need a visual, here is a reminder of why we ask motorists to move over an extra lane when we are working on the highway," the department said Monday. As of 1 p.m., the post received more than 300 reactions and over 600 shares.

The Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety notes the Move Over Law requires motorists traveling in the lane next to the shoulder to move over one lane when emergency and utility vehicles are stopped on the side of the highway and operating in an "official capacity." Vehicles included in the law include all first responders, utility vehicles, Department of Transportation vehicles, HERO Units and wreckers tending to an accident. The law, GOHS added, is meant to keep officers and traffic violators safe from crashes with passing cars.

This isn't the first time an officer's patrol vehicle has been hit by a driver under the influence in Sandy Springs and around North Fulton County. In January 2017, a 47-year-old woman was charged with hit-and-run after she struck an 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 police 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 city of Sandy Springs