Posted on Oct 01, 2007

A DeKalb County policeman who was struck by a vehicle in a chain-reaction and lost consciousness is recovering at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, reported the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC).

Officer Lucky to Be Alive in Near Miss

Dwight Green, a two-year veteran of the police force, had stopped on the shoulder of Interstate 295 to check an abandoned vehicle. A drunk driver behind the wheel of a sport utility vehicle left the road and struck the police cruiser, which was pushed into Green, forcing him to the pavement, where he passed out. The incident happened on September 29, near the intersection of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and I-295.

An off-duty Barrow County Sheriff’s deputy arrived at the scene and used Green’s radio to call for assistance. Green later was listed in good condition.

The driver of the SUV -- 54-year-old Daniel Hariston -- was hospitalized at Atlanta Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, according to the AJC. Police charged him with DUI, reckless driving, following too closely and violating Georgia’s new “move-over law.” That law requires motorists to slow down and change lanes if they see a patrol car in the adjacent lane.