A Hall County Sheriff's Deputy and one of his K9s were expected to return to work Tuesday following their involvement in a traffic accident Friday morning.
According to a statement from the sheriff's office, Sgt. Jeremy Prickett and K9 Bella will return to work Tuesday. K9 Timo, a second K9 that was also involved in the accident, is still recovering. The agency says Timo received some cuts and scrapes and will return to duty in the near future.
Prickett and the two K9s suffered minor injuries when their Hall County Sheriff's Office Ford F-150 was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer at about 10:25 a.m. Friday on Browns Bridge Road west of Gainesville.
The two K9s were in their kennels in the bed of the pickup truck when the accident occurred.
The Georgia State Patrol is investigating the incident.
Original story published November 12 at 6:40 p.m.:
Charges are pending after a Kentucky man allegedly rear-ended a Hall County Sheriff’s Office K9 vehicle Friday morning, injuring a Sheriff's Deputy and two K9 officers.
The Georgia State Patrol says the collision happened around 10:25 a.m. on Browns Bridge Road, and involved a tractor-trailer trailing behind a Hall County-owned F-150 pickup truck.
"The driver of the truck, Hall County Deputy Prickett, came to a stop in the roadway due to traffic," said the GSP on Saturday evening. "The front of the tractor-trailer struck the rear of the Hall County patrol vehicle. Both vehicles then came to a controlled rest on the shoulder of the roadway."
Troopers identified the driver of the tractor-trailer as 60-year-old Jeffery Raney of Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.
Two K9 officers, named Timo and Bella, were in their kennels - located in the bed of the pickup truck - when the collision occurred.
"Both K9s were taken to a local veterinary hospital for treatment of their injuries," the GSP said. "Deputy Prickett suffered minor injuries and was not transported."
Specific charges against Raney were said to be pending the completion of an investigation by the State Patrol's Troop B Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team.
