Rescue personnel extricate the injured deputy from his wrecked patrol car. (Photo: Andrew Odom).
Butts deputy injured in Lamar crash
Butts County deputy Clark Darden was lifeflighted to an Atlanta trauma center after his patrol car collided with a tractor trailer near the intersection of Hwy. 36 East and Parker Branch Road October 8. The accident occurred at about 4:45 p.m.
From what I've read, I don't think in this case it officer's fault for speeding though.
As far as the tractor/trailers on that road. Yea, some of them run towards 65 mph but most all of them run 50-60mph. Most of them are from out of state and they have no idea where they are going. They know that they are looking for 36 bypass so they hit the brakes at every road crossing trying to see if it is their turn off. I am a truck driver myself and travel that road tons of times during the week. (not in a truck though). Some of them drive so slow, it gets aggrivating. I personally run about 65mph in my car. It is against the law for a county or city officer to issue a ticket for less than 10mph unless you are in a school zone or construction zone.(GSP can issue a ticket at any speed) Why not take advantage of it. That road is perfectly safe to travel on @ 60-65 mph. Everytime there is an accident everyone wants to blame the big truck. I can assure you that the trucker are more afraid of the "little cars" than you all are afraid of the big trucks. Take a ride with someone somewhere sometime if you have a chance and see what we have to go through. Its tough. Ask any truck driver. Too many stupid people driving cars. We have some stupid truck drivers too now, but way more stupid people on the road in cars and pickups.
He also tells me his greatest fear is that his truck will take a life some day.
I know this is off topic but I had to respond to the trucker on here.
Everyone, "if you bought it, a truck brought it", please remember this and show a little respect to the men and women who drive the big rigs.
Again, I know the officer has a long road to recovery ahead of him. My father was a police officer and I have the utmost respect for our men and women in law enforcement.
So, my thoughts and prayers go out to the officer during this time, and to the trucker who probably is still shaking over this accident.
You're home alone, or your mother/grandmother is home alone, and they see a suspicious vehicle that is going up and down the road and even turns into the driveway but then pulls back out like they are scouting the home. You call 911.
Guess what, Georgia law will not permit law enforcement to use lights and sirens to get there. However, the officer responding knows that this could be a dangerous situation. It's going to be a lose/lose situation with the officer. If he uses the lights he is in direct violation of the law because it's not a crime in progress. If he doesnt use the lights and travels the speed limit then what he thinks might happen does happen and someone ends up getting hurt. So, they are going to end up speeding to make sure they can get there as quick as legally possible.
Folks you have to remember that usually there are only 2-3 deputies working at a time. If a call goes out thats on the other end of the county the officer needs to get there in a reasonable amount of time so that the person calling feels safe. Here is some homework for the weekend. Start out at the Monroe/Lamar line on Hwy 341 and drive to Highfalls Rd. Do the speed limit, and realize exactly how big Lamar County is.
Do some officers abuse it? Absolutely. But please dont put all the officers in that category by saying "im tired of cops passing me on 341" you really don't know what it's like to have to be in their position. A lose/lose position.
I was a few cars from the accident site. It's understandable that officers want to come to the aid of one of their own, but there were 17 police vehicles by my count in addition to the ambulance, fire truck, tow vehicles, etc. There would have been ample room to create a travel lane except for the cars and officers milling around. They certainly weren't preserving the scene for an investigation.