Aug. 28--A late-night collision over the weekend between a Mount Airy patrol car and a Hyundai left a city officer with minor injuries, and heavy damage to both vehicles.
The Mount Airy Police Department is now seeking witnesses to the accident.
It happened about midnight Saturday at the intersection of U.S. 52 and U.S. 601, as Sgt. George Daughenbaugh was entering that juncture from the western side of U.S. 52.
"Our patrol vehicle was traveling on 601 toward Northern Hospital," Police Chief Dale Watson explained.
It collided in the intersection with a 2002 Hyundai being operated by Brian Lee Nunn, 39, of Cana, Va., which was northbound on U.S. 52.
While Nunn was not hurt, the accident resulted in Daughenbaugh being taken to the nearby medical facility.
"He sustained minor injuries," Watson said. "He was checked out at Northern Hospital and released."
At the time of the collision, Daughenbaugh was proceeding through at a slow speed and his car was struck by the faster-moving Hyundai. "At this point, we believe the patrol vehicle was traveling around 20 mph and the other vehicle was traveling around 45," the police chief said.
The officer was operating one of the police department's Dodge Chargers. "It was a brand-new one, actually," Watson said. "We believe the patrol vehicle was a total loss." The Hyundai also sustained heavy damage and could be a total loss as well.
Witnesses Sought
Since the Saturday night incident, accident-reconstruction personnel with the police department have been trying to pinpoint exactly how the crash occurred, with Watson putting out the call Monday for possible witnesses. They can contact the department at 786-3535.
"We had a witness drive up and they left before we could get any information," Watson said of one person who could have shed some light on the matter.
Even at midnight, the U.S. 52-U.S. 601 intersection tends to be busy on weekend nights, and police are hoping this means someone else might have noticed the accident. The video unit on the police car showed other traffic in that area at the time of the collision.
"No charges are likely to be filed," the police chief said.
Unless aggravating factors are involved such as driving while impaired, offenses generally are not issued in traffic collisions in the city limits, but there is a finding of fault for insurance-liability purposes.
Reach Tom Joyce at 719-1924 or [email protected].
Copyright 2012 - The Mount Airy News, N.C.
