GEORGIA MAN ACCUSED OF REAR-ENDING POLICE CRUISER

A Georgia man committed one of the biggest driving errors in rear-ending another car. What made it worse for the man, was the fact that he hit a police cruiser. The driver hitting a car from behind is often found to be at fault.

Imagine how much fault the police found when the man rear-ended that police car while the officer was flashing his blue lights.

That was the problem which Cirilo Velazquez, 36, of Norcross faced while driving his Ford F-150 pickup early Saturday morning march 24. He is charged with hitting a DeKalb County police car as an officer was attempting to pull over a 2005 Mazda on Interstate 85 north near Pleasantdale Road. The collision forced the police car to crash into the Mazda.

The officer, in a fully marked police vehicle, had activated his emergency blue lights, said Cpl. Darren Moloney, spokesman for the Gwinnett County Police Department. The three-car collision, which occurred about 2:30 a.m., did enough damage for the two drivers and the officer to require medical attention. All three have been treated and released from the Gwinnett Medical Center.

Officer Robert Catalano of DeKalb County was in his patrol car, and a 22-year-old Duluth man was driving the Mazda. Gwinnett police are investigating the collision, which occurred just inside Gwinnett. Velazquez is now facing several charges including Georgia’s “Move Over Law,” where vehicles are required to slow down and move over to the next lane when emergency vehicles have activated their equipment.