GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Two Gwinnett County police officers narrowly escaped a careening semi-truck that plowed into the exact spot where they had been standing moments before.
Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson was live on Interstate 85 for Channel 2 Action News at 6:00.
Cpl. Christian D’Allard and another officer were conducting a routine traffic stop on I-85 south of Steve Reynolds Boulevard on Nov. 4 when a chain-reaction crash sent the tractor trailer spinning toward them at around 10 p.m.
“Had we not turned around when we did, had it been another two or three seconds, it really could have been very catastrophic,” D’Allard said.
The officers heard the first collision behind them and turned to look. That split-second decision saved their lives.
“That’s when we observed the semi-truck actually literally turning towards us and coming directly to our position,” D’Allard said.
Both officers and another person dove out of the way. Dashcam, body camera and GDOT video captured the close call.
“Watching my body cam, the dash cam from my patrol vehicle and the DOT camera footage, it is one of those things you’re like, oh, well, you never know when it could be that time,” he said.
No officers were hurt. People in the crashed vehicles reported only minor injuries.
Police say the at-fault driver failed to slow down and rear-ended another vehicle, pushing it underneath the tractor trailer and triggering the pileup. He was cited for following too closely, driving while license suspended and having an improper license plate cover.
D’Allard, a nearly eight-year veteran assigned to the West Precinct Community Response Team covering Norcross, hopes the video reminds drivers to stay alert.
“If you see blue lights, emergency vehicles or even just disabled vehicles on the side of the road, make sure you’re moving over,” he said. “It’s not just for our safety. It’s for everybody else’s.”
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