Atlanta Police officers received commendations from their superiors after they saved a suspect from getting hit by a train. Authorities said that the suspect was saved after he crashed a cop car onto the train tracks after stealing it during a routine stop.
ABC News obtained the video that captured the horrifying moment the suspect was saved from a train barreling towards the police vehicle overturned in the tracks. The intense moment was captured by an aerial camera in the Atlanta Police Department's helicopter and officers' body cameras at the scene.
The suspect's joyride in a stolen cop car almost came to a crashing end when he flipped the vehicle onto the train tracks. Police officers who chased the suspect in the stolen police car saved his life by pulling him out of the overturned vehicle just seconds before a train came barrelling down the tracks and rammed into the automobile.
Atlanta police officer's car was stolen during a traffic stop
Authorities said that an Atlanta police officer was dealing with a driver at a traffic stop when his patrol vehicle was stolen by a suspect identified as 29-year-old Mickal Parker.
As per Fox News, Atlanta Sgt. Chaffee said that after the car was stolen, the officer immediately got to his radio and began updating patrol officers in the area to look for the suspect in the stolen police car.
Shortly after, multiple officers joined the search, including the Police Department's helicopter, who tracked the suspect in the stolen patrol vehicle before it drove onto the train tracks off McDonough Boulevard and flipped over.
Shortly after, the officers in the video can be heard yelling, "Train!" multiple times before they rushed towards the flipped car and dragged the suspect out towards safety. Moments later, a train is seen ramming the vehicle on the tracks. Addressing his officers' swift response, Atlanta Sgt. Chaffee said:
"They just immediately went into rescue mode, where they got to get this guy out of the car and away from that train.”
Fox News reported that the suspect, who suffered minor injuries, was reportedly apprehended at the scene and taken to Fulton County Jail, where he is facing multiple charges, including theft by taking, fleeing, reckless driving, obstruction, and damage to city property charges.
Chaffee commended the officers' swift actions. In a statement, he said:
"We’re very proud of the actions of the officers. This could’ve gone a number of different ways. 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."
Officials said that no officers were injured during the incident.