Atlanta Police Chase Their Own Cruiser After Man Steals It During Traffic Stop And Crashes On Train Tracks

The last thing a police officer might expect when on duty is having to chase their own police cruiser down. That’s exactly the situation that happened recently in Atlanta though and it ended with authorities pulling the fleeing suspect out of the wrecked cruiser moments before it was hit by a freight train. The entire ordeal was captured on video.

The incident took place in Southwest Atlanta where 29-year-old Mickal Parker stole the cruiser while the attending officer was engaged in a conversation with a motorist during a traffic stop. The cruiser was left unlocked at the time of the theft, according to the police.

As the officer and motorist were talking, Parker took advantage of the unlocked cruiser and drove off. The officer immediately called in the issue providing dispatchers with key information about which direction the SUV was heading in. Not long after, Atlanta Police Department’s helicopter spotted the suspect and observed him leaving the road near McDonough Boulevard.

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Moments later, the SUV flipped and rolled partially onto one of the tracks. Police quickly approached the vehicle and began to extricate Parker but quickly realized that a train was headed down the tracks. In the video, we see them pull Parker out not long before the train deals a glancing blow to the SUV.

Officials told Atlanta News First that Parker “crashed and flipped the patrol vehicle onto the train tracks while a train was coming. An officer was able to successfully pull Parker out before the train struck the patrol vehicle.” Less than a full minute passes between when the police arrive on the scene of the crashed SUV and when the train hits it.

“We’re very proud of the actions of the officers this could’ve gone a number of different ways,” Sgt. John Chafee said to Fox5 Atlanta. “They just immediately went into rescue mode where they got to get this guy out of the car and away from that train… It could’ve ended with this person being severely injured by this train, it didn’t look like he was able to get out on his own.”

Parker was immediately rushed to Grady Hospital for the treatment of his injuries before he was arrested and booked into Fulton County Jail. He faces theft by taking, fleeing, and eluding, reckless driving, obstruction, and damage to city property charges.

Image Credit: Good Cop Bad Cop on YouTube