An internal investigation found that a Georgia police officer was watching a video clip from the popular video game series Grand Theft Auto in his patrol car when he rear-ended a driver in rush hour traffic. Gwinnett County police OfficerĀ Todd RamseyĀ was going 68-miles-per-hour when he slammed into the SUV ofĀ Sarah Wood, who was traveling just six miles per hour due to the traffic. Wood suffered a traumatic brain injury in the crash and spent four weeks in a coma.
Despite watching a video in his patrol car while driving, Ramsey was only cited for following Wood's car too closely.
Local news stationĀ WSB-TV filed an open records request for information about the investigationĀ and learned that it was Ramsey's eighth vehicle-related offense. Six months after the incident, Ramsey was demoted from master police officer to police officer senior and was āprohibited from driving or operating a Gwinnett County vehicle for any reason.ā He has been permanently assigned to the Tele-Serve Unit.
Wood's attorney,Ā Susan Witt, is currently in negotiations with the county to work out a settlement. Wood has over $500,000 in medical bills following the accident.
āI donāt want to call this an accident. This wasnāt an accident; this was a serious collision that should of and could have been avoided,ā Witt said.āI donāt understand why these officers should be exempt from adhering to the rules that apply to everyone else."