KEY POINTS

  • The man stole the patrol car when the cop stepped outside during a traffic stop
  • Air Unit helped the Atlanta police nab the culprit, leading to a car chase
  • The brief chase ended as the man lost control of the stolen vehicle resulting in a crash

Atlanta police officers rescued a man from a crashed patrol vehicle seconds before an oncoming train hit the vehicle that was stolen during a traffic stop.

The suspect, later identified as Mickal Parker, 29, jumped into the police vehicle and fled the scene while an Atlanta Police Department officer was conducting a traffic stop Saturday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The officer soon notified the dispatch of the incident, and the Air Unit determined the location and the direction of the stolen patrol car, prompting a brief chase. Soon after Parker took the patrol car, he lost control of the vehicle, and it overturned and came to a halt partially on some train tracks nearby, police said.

"With the assistance of the Georgia State Patrol, officers acted quickly to remove the suspect from the vehicle just seconds before an oncoming train struck the patrol car," the City of Atlanta Police Department said in a news release.

Footage of the incident released by the department Sunday shows the suspect fleeing with the patrol vehicle while an officer was talking to the driver of another vehicle during a traffic stop.

The aerial footage shows the man fleeing with the stolen patrol car on the highway for around 8 miles before crashing it on the rail tracks.

The video also shows multiple officers approaching the crashed vehicle and rescuing the man from the car's broken front window. As the suspect is pulled out, the sound of the incoming train could be heard in the background.

"Good job officers, glad everybody's safe. They just saved that man's life. For sure," an APD pilot said after the man was arrested and removed from the scene.

Parker reportedly faces multiple charges, including theft by taking, reckless driving, obstruction, damage to city property, and fleeing and eluding. He is currently held in Fulton County jail.

"We are proud of the efforts of the units on the ground as well as in the air, as they all worked to safely conclude an incident that could have ended in death or [serious] bodily harm," the news release added.

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Representation. A police car. bayern-reporter_com/Pixabay