6 taken to hospitals after wreck that blocked I-20 West for hours

A wreck that shut down I-20 West for about three hours Wednesday afternoon sent two adults, three young children and an officer to the hospital, authorities said.

Just after 4 p.m., the officer was conducting a traffic stop near Flat Shoals Road when a gray Chevrolet Impala hit the guardrail near the officer’s patrol car, Georgia State Patrol said in a news release.

The Impala hit the officer’s patrol car, sending both into the interstate, the release said. The Impala also hit a vehicle being towed by a tow truck, which the officer had pulled over for the traffic stop.

The officer was in his vehicle when it was struck, and he was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital with minor injuries, according to the release.

The man driving the Impala and the woman in the passenger seat were both taken to Grady with injuries, the release said. They were not wearing seat belts.

A 6-year-old girl and a 4-year-old girl in the back seat were taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston with injuries, the release said. Though she did not have any visible injuries, a 1-year-old girl in the back seat also was taken to Egleston. The children were in booster seats, but they were not restrained properly, officials said.

The names of the people involved in the crash were not released. However, authorities said the officer worked for the motor carrier compliance division, a unit of the Georgia Department of Public Safety.

DeKalb County police blocked all westbound traffic between Gresham and Flat Shoals roads until around 7:15 p.m., according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center. Eastbound traffic was not affected.

Police also diverted westbound traffic to Candler Road, which caused heavy backups near Exit 65, the Traffic Center reported. Delays stretched back past Lithonia Industrial Boulevard at one point, which is about 10 miles away.