DeKalb County Police car that hit Hightower on Memorial Drive near intersection with Mountain View Drive early this morning
Area of Memorial Drive where Clinton Hightower was hit and killed
Clinton Hightower
Clinton Hightower's parents, Annamaria and Michael David
ATLANTA -- A pedestrian was struck and killed by a police car Tuesday morning.
The man was hit by a marked DeKalb County Police car, driven by Officer Jason Copper, on Memorial Drive, according to DeKalb County Police spokesman Maj. B. C. Harris.
Investigators said the police cruiser was en route to a chase resulting from an unrelated shooting at a south DeKalb County drive-in.
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Michael and Annamaria Davis told 11Alive's Paul Crawley the victim was their son, 27-year-old Clinton Hightower, and that he was on his way to his sister's house to babysit her children so she could go to work.
Hightower's parents said police showed up at their house at around 5 a.m. to tell them their son was dead and that "he didn't suffer."
Harris said investigators do not know how the accident occurred and are trying to find witnesses and possible surveillance video from a gas station near the scene.
Michael and Annamaria Davis said they heard witness accounts that the officer was speeding with no lights or siren, and that it was dark and foggy outside when Hightower was hit.
DeKalb County Police said their investigation would determine if that's true. "There are early indications that the officers lights were on," said spokesperson Mekka Parish. "The follow up investigation will determine at what point those lights came on as well as when and if a siren was also activated."
Parish said the investigation would also be able to determine how fast the officer was going.