Father killed, 2-year-old hurt in crash with cop responding to call, GA troopers say
A 21-year-old father was killed and his toddler son was injured in a crash with a Clayton County police officer, according to Georgia State Patrol.
The accident happened around 5 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 4, along Georgia Highway 85 in Riverdale, police reported.
The officer, 24, was headed north while responding to a call “without emergency equipment activated,” troopers said. Further along, a blue Ford Fiesta was trying to turn left into a KFC from the center lane.
The officer swerved to avoid hitting the Ford, but ended up striking the vehicle on the passenger side, according to a news release. The impact knocked the officer’s car off the roadway and onto a sidewalk before it rolled downhill into an empty parking lot and crashed into a building.
The Ford sedan spun clockwise and came to a rest in the northbound lanes, authorities said.
The driver, identified as Kelvontae Banks of Atlanta, was taken to a hospital where he died, according to troopers. His 2-year-old son, who was in the back seat, was also taken to a hospital with unknown injuries.
The crash remains under investigation.
Riverdale is about 15 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta.