22-year-old Chasity Jones charged in crash that killed cop

An Atlanta police officer was killed in the line of duty Tuesday night. The 15-year veteran was helping another officer when she was struck on Interstate 75.

”As you can imagine, there's a lot of very raw nerves and emotions, and we just encourage our officers to depend on each other to seek out help," Atlanta Police Chief George Tuer said in a news conference early the next moing.

He asked Channel 2 to withhold the victim’s name because all of her family members have not been notified. She was just beginning her shift around 11 p.m. when she joined a crash investigation in the southbound lanes of I-75 near Northside Drive. The crash was in the far left lanes and another officer needed her help steering drivers away from the scene.

Atlanta police officer Gail Thomas, a 15-year veteran with the APD, was killed Tuesday, January 24, while assisting another officer during a traffic accident. Chasity Jones, 22, of Stone Mountain has been charged in connection with her …

”As the officer arrived on scene and began to exit the vehicle, that officer was struck by a car and was fatally injured, Tuer said.

Investigators believe the driver, 22-year-old Stone Mountain resident Chasity Jones, had been drinking. She was charged with driving under the influence and first-degree vehicular homicide. She is being held at the Fulton County Jail.

The interstate was shut down for more than three hours while police investigated.

Tuer said officers will need support to cope with the tragedy. He said chaplains and counselors with the department's employee assistance program will be on hand.

"We're just asking for the prayers and conces of our community while we get through this, Tuer said.