Sandy MaloneMcDonough, GA – Henry County Police K9 Thorr was mortally wounded on Jan. 9 when the patrol vehicle he was riding in collided with a tractor trailer.
Georgia State Patrol said that the crash happened at about 7 p.m. in Spalding County when the patrol car attempted to make a U-turn, WXIA reported.
Henry County Police Department said in a post on its official Facebook page that Officers T. Pilgrim and W. Neville were conducting traffic enforcement on Interstate 75 near mile marker 208 when the crash occurred.
The state patrol said the officers were attempting to make a wide U-turn from a center median turnaround when they collided with the massive truck, WXIA reported.
According to state troopers, the officers stopped before entering traffic but when they proceeded, the tractor trailer was changing lanes at the same time.
Officers Pilgrim and Neville had their seatbelts on but were still injured in the wreck, WXIA reported.
They were transported to Piedmont Henry Medical Center, treated, and released.
The driver of the truck, who was conscious at the scene, was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, according to WXIA.
K9 Thorr was rushed to an emergency veterinarian but his injuries were too severe, the Henry County police said in their Facebook post.
Police and veterinarians ultimately decided that the K9 officer would not be able to recover from his injuries and he was euthanized, WXIA reported.
K9 Thorr was a five-year-old Belgian Malinois who had been a member of the Henry County police force for six months, according to the police department.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Henry County Police Department and its officers in the loss of K9 Thorr.