Even the people paid to police the roads aren’t immune to the golden rule of highway driving: leave enough space, because traffic doesn’t care who you are. That lesson played out Tuesday afternoon on Georgia 400 near Abernathy Road, where a Georgia State Patrol trooper ended up on the wrong end of a sudden stop and kicked off a three-vehicle pileup.
It happened around 3:43 p.m. in the northbound lanes, prime time for that late-afternoon stretch where traffic goes from cruising speed to parking lot in about four seconds flat. The trooper was heading north when the vehicles ahead came to an abrupt halt. There wasn’t enough room to stop in time, and the cruiser struck the rear of another car, which then plowed into a third vehicle ahead of it. Just like that, a routine patrol turned into the exact kind of chain-reaction wreck troopers spend their shifts trying to prevent.
All three vehicles took enough damage that they had to be towed away, which tells you this wasn’t a gentle tap. The trooper suffered visible injuries and was treated at the scene, while the driver of the second vehicle was taken to a nearby hospital. The driver of the third car reported pain but declined medical treatment on site. Thankfully, everyone involved was up and talking, which on a highway wreck involving three cars is about as good an outcome as you can hope for…