Officer conscious, alert
Floyd police officer Brandon Broome is recovering from multiple injuries after a Thursday night wreck on U.S. 27.
Floyd County police Pfc. Brandon Broome, who sustained multiple injuries in a Thursday night wreck, was conscious and alert Friday afternoon in intensive care at Grady Memorial Hospital, PIO Jerome Poole said.
Broome, 32, of Trion, was injured in a wreck with a Redmond Regional Medical Center ambulance Thursday night on U.S. 27 near Armuchee High School.
Floyd Police Chief Bill Shiflett said Broome was in a medically induced coma much of the firsthalf of the day Friday.
But Broome had been taken off a breathing tube Friday afternoon, Poole added.
Shiflett said Broome sustained multiple fractures, serious head and facial injuries along with multiple internal injuries in the wreck. Due to the extensive nature of Broome’s injuries, he was flown to Grady, which is a Level I trauma center with a full range of specialists available 24 hours a day.
According to Georgia State Patrol Tfc. Jeremy Battle, Broome was northbound on U.S. 27 in the right lane when he went to pursue a vehicle in the southbound lane to make a traffic stop. The ambulance was also northbound and was traveling in the left lane.
“He went to make a U-turn to chase after the violator to make a traffic stop and he turned in front of the ambulance, which struck him in the driver’s side,” Battle said.
John Blalock, director of the Rome-Floyd 911, said there was a two-second communication from Broome to the dispatch center right at the time of the wreck, but the transmission was garbled and not understandable.
The two paramedics in the Redmond ambulance identified by the GSP as Gregory Hawkins, 54, and Bryan Dawkins, 31, sustained minor injuries, primarily bruises and cuts from shattered glass from the door and windshield of the ambulance.
The GSP Public Information Office did not identify which of the paramedics was driving the ambulance.
Neither Broome, nor the ambulance, were deploying emergency equipment prior to the wreck.
The GSP Special Collision Reconstruction Team responded to the scene Thursday night to investigate precisely how the accident happened. Their report was not available Friday night.
Broome, who joined the Floyd County Police in April of 2014, was a winner of the Respect for Law Officer of the Year award in 2015. Noon Optimist, Seven Hills Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions clubs in Rome give the awards jointly. Broome was credited with making more than 40 drug-related arrests during the first four months of 2015.
Floyd County officer Chris Fincher said the Coosa Valley Fraternal Organization of Police is spearheading a fundraising drive for Broome and his family.
Those seeking to contribute can go to the Floyd County Police Department Facebook page for a link to the Go Fund Me account, Fincher added.