A head-on crash between a marked Marietta police cruiser and a van on Burnt Hickory Road left the van's driver seriously injured and three other people hurt, including the officer behind the wheel. The collision happened around 3:45 p.m. Thursday, just east of Old Mountain Road in Marietta, Georgia.
According to 11Alive, the Marietta police SUV was traveling westbound on Burnt Hickory Road toward Old Mountain Road, while a white 2004 Ford Econoline van carrying a driver and two passengers was heading eastbound toward Polk Street. Investigators told the outlet that the police cruiser crossed into the eastbound lane and into the van's path, causing the two vehicles to collide head-on. The impact reportedly forced both vehicles to spin counterclockwise before they came to a stop in the roadway.
Four People Hurt, One Seriously
The van's driver suffered serious injuries in the collision with the marked Marietta police department cruiser, per Cobb County Police, and was transported to a local hospital. One van passenger was also transported to a hospital with injuries, while a second passenger reportedly had injuries at the scene. The Marietta police officer driving the cruiser also reported injuries at the scene, according to the report.
The extent of the injuries beyond those initial descriptions has not been detailed. No further information has been released about the identities of the driver, the passengers, or the officer involved.
The absence of names in an initial account does not mean those details are absent from official records. Georgia’s law-enforcement open-records guide says access to uniform motor vehicle accident reports is limited to people who meet the law’s eligibility rules and provide a written statement of need. The guide lists people involved in or injured by a crash, witnesses and insurers among those who may qualify, so access is not the same as unrestricted public release.
Cobb County's S.T.E.P. Unit Takes Over
Cobb County’s Selective Traffic Enforcement Program handles more than routine traffic enforcement: the department’s 2023 annual report says the unit investigates fatal crashes and department-vehicle crashes when requested. It handled more than 127 serious-injury or fatality collision investigations that year. The report gives a sense of the specialized reconstruction work the unit can bring to an investigation, though it does not indicate what methods were used in this crash.
Cobb County Police's S.T.E.P. Unit conducted the preliminary investigation at the scene and is now leading the ongoing probe into how the crash happened. The unit has not released additional findings on the cause of the cruiser's lane departure beyond what investigators have already shared.
Cobb County Police are asking anyone with information about the collision to call 770-499-3987 as the investigation continues.
