The Path of the Hit and Run Truck (from bottom to top).

Last week while at work I was dispatched to a hit and run. I was told over the radio that a red GMC truck hit a car. When I arrived in the area I met with a group of people who were standing in the road. I learned that the truck first hit a mailbox, then a tree, and finally hit a moving car before leaving the area. The people in the car followed the truck to his house at the end of the street. The incident happened in Cobb County, but the street dead ends in Cherokee County. After writing down everyone’s information, I followed the road to the dead end. It was easy to find the perp’s house. There was a bright red GMC truck in the driveway that had major damage to the driver’s side from the tree. There were parts of the tree stuck in the truck. I was pretty certain that this was the place. While I was waiting for Matt, my back up, to get there, the guy came out of the house.

He walked up to me and I could see that he was very upset. He seemed on the brink of tears. He began apologizing for hitting the car but said nothing about the mailbox and tree. I asked him for his driver’s license and I noticed the smell of alcohol coming from him. Back up arrived and I started field sobriety tests. One test I like to include is an alphabet test. I generally ask them to say the alphabet from “E” to “U” without singing. It’s amazing how difficult this is for a drunk/high person. This guy did terrible at it. I don’t remember his exact response, but he started with “E, U, E” and then went on to demolish the rest of the alphabet. He said “H” three times in a row, and ended with “X, Y, Z”. He was completely cooperative and friendly during the entire process.

I got behind him and secured his hands behind his back. I don’t like to tell people they are under arrest until they are in handcuffs. I asked him if he had any weapons on him and started to pat him down, and then quickly handcuffed him. His attitude immediately changed, and he started to try to pull his hands free. Matt and I escorted him to the hood of my car so I could finish searching him. He became very resistant so we pushed him over so he was partially laying on the hood. I attempted some joint manipulation techniques to gain control of him, when suddenly he pulled his left arm from the handcuffs. We immediatly took him to the pavement and piled on top of him. After about a minute of wrestling with him, we got him back in the handcuffs. I sat on him for a couple more minutes until I was sure that he wasn’t going to fight anymore (and until I caught my breath). There were three or four people who just stood there and watched the whole event.

Map of the Area

Since I needed a blood sample from him, and since he got a little banged up during the scuffle, I needed to take him to the hospital. Since the fight (and therfore Felony Obstruction charge) occurred in Cherokee County, I was going to have to charge him through Cherokee County. I took him to the hospital and then the Cherokee County Jail. I then went back to Cobb County where I took out a Hit and Run and DUI warrant for him. While enroute to the hospital, he told me that he was out on bond for Hit and Run. I guess he didn’t learn after the first night in jail.

The whole thing started around 3:00 PM. By the time it was all over, it was midnight. There’s a lot of paperwork that you have to complete when you arrest someone. There’s even more when you have to fight them to arrest them. It was probably an hour after we got him in the backseat before I left to the hospital. A few more hours at the hospital, and then a couple at the jail getting warrants.

Here’s some pictures from the scene. They start with the mailbox that was hit and follows his path.