Man Killed, Officer Injured In Roadside Check Crash

From WSBTV.com:

PALMETTO, Ga. -- Officials said a police officer is in stable condition after a weekend car crash that killed the driver during a roadside check. Palmetto police said they are still investigating how the officer was pulled onto the car as the driver took off from a traffic stop.
Sergeant Fred Gragg was listed in stable condition at Grady Hospital Monday but his injuries have erased his memory of what happened during the weekend crash, officials said.
At Grady Hospital, Gragg was surrounded by friends and family as he recovered from facial fractures and other injuries.
"Very dedicated. He was our supervisor on evening watch," said Deputy Chief John Cooper of the Palmetto Police Department.
On Hutchinson Ferry Road, the markings from the deadly accident could still be seen Monday. Palmetto police said Gragg was conducting a road safety check at Hutchinson Ferry Road and Waterworks when Gragg asked Jimmy Austin for his driver’s license. Austin could not produce one, so Gragg asked him to pull his car over to the side of the road, according to police.
Cooper said Austin was on his cell phone when the sergeant asked him to hang up -- that's when the deadly chain of events began.
"(Austin) was on his cell phone and after two or three times, Sergeant Gragg asked him to, 'Please hang up the cell phone I need to conduct my investigation,'" said Cooper. “I don't know what got into the guy, he just floor-boarded the car, and how the officer ended up in the car I don't know, I don't know if his belt got hung on the side of the car, I don't know if he tried to reach for the keys to shut, shut the car off."
Investigators said the car travelled about 300 yards before striking a concrete mailbox.
“Which caused the vehicle to subsequently flip over, subsequently pinning the driver underneath and ejecting Sergeant Greg onto the street,” said Cooper.
Investigators said they are still trying to find out how Gragg ended up inside the car. Officials said they have a few working theories about how he may have gotten caught on the car.
“All I know is that he was stopped at a roadblock, how the officer got in the car with him I do not know I have no idea,” said Jimmy Austin’s wife, Melissa.
Melissa Austin said she can’t understand how her husband ended up dead.
"He's not a violent person, not a bad person so all I can do is pray. I know he is in a better place," said Melissa Austin.
The officer’s condition has been improving since the incident, hospital officials said.