When does a person who is involved in an accident and leaves the scene not get arrested? When they are so obviously sick that responding officers offer to take him to the hospital.
Such was the case for Peachtree City City Councilman Clint Holland who was driving from his home to seek medical attention after a bad case of the flu would not get better. He’d tried to get in with his primary care physician, but there were no appointments so he headed to get urgent care inside the pharmacy.
According to Lt. Chris Hyatt, Peachtree City Police Department Public Information Officer, “On February 25th we received a report of a vehicle leaving the scene after a collision on Peachtree Parkway. The reporting party followed the other driver to the parking lot of Walgreens, and officers made contact with them there.
“The driver was found to be Councilman Clint Holland, who was suffering a medical episode and was enroute to the Piedmont QuickCare inside Walgreens. Councilman Holland was evaluated by officers and medics, issued citations for the collision, and released to seek treatment at the QuickCare.”
After the officers issued their citation, they offered to take Holland home, and he took them up on it. He never did get treatment at the QuickCare. By several hours later, Holland’s condition had worsened, and he collapsed at his Peachtree City home, unable to use his arms and legs. He was able to call his wife using voice activation on his phone. She came home immediately from her corporate job, took one look at him and called an ambulance.
Holland shared, “They brought me into the emergency room. They’re looking over me. I’m dazed. I’m going in and out of consciousness. I couldn’t move my arms and legs. So they’re working on me. They said, ‘We’re going to admit you.’ They took a portable chest x-ray of my chest and they said, ‘We’re going to get you into the ICU right away. So they put me in a little holding room. When I get in the holding room, I started coughing and I was coughing like crazy, and then all of a sudden I couldn’t cough anymore. I couldn’t take a breath. I had lost the ability to take a breath. My head went back. My wife was like, ‘What? What’s going on? He’s going to throw up.’ No, I didn’t throw up. I just was gone. I stopped breathing.
“The nurses saw it and they were all over me, literally all over me. I knew what they were doing. They were going to bring me back. I was dying. I couldn’t breathe. They brought me back, shoved all kinds of tubes in me all over the place.”
Holland was diagnosed with pneumonia in his right lung, blood sepsis and encephalitis. He was in the ICU for six days. It’s only in the last day that he felt up to interviewing with The Citizen.
“I was very very sick. I lost 12 pounds in those six days, and my strength was totally sapped from me fighting whatever it was I was fighting. And I can tell you, it knocked the living tar out of me,” said Holland. Doctors have told Holland it may take two months to get his strength back to 100%. But he is grateful for their help and how they saved his life.
What about that accident? Councilman Holland doesn’t remember it happening. There was no damage to either car, so there’s no physical proof that it happened, but Holland accedes that he was sick enough that he might just not recall how it went down when he was seeking medical attention.
“I collapsed a few hours after this. So I make no excuse. They said I was in the accident. What am I going to do? Am I going to tell the police that I don’t remember it? They didn’t see it. Nobody saw it. The driver of the other car and myself were the only two involved that saw it or felt it, as the case may be. That’s the story,” said Holland
“I called the police after I got better, after I got out of the hospital. So this would’ve been March the second. I called and talked to the officer. He was just wonderful. And I told him, ‘You never asked me what happened.’ He goes, ‘No, you were too sick. We just took care of you.’ I said, ‘First of all, thank you for taking care of me.”
Holland had the chance to give a report to the police after his hospitalization, but his recollection is fuzzy. He vaguely remembers a car coming fast towards him on Peachtree Parkway as he turned out of Loring Lane. But he doesn’t remember the collision.
At age 75, Holland is grateful that he’ll have some more time on earth, and maybe the opportunity to run for re-election this year, but he’s not ready to announce that just yet, as he continues to recover.
It’s good to see Mr. Holland was able to get the treatment needed and nobody was hurt in the vehicular accident. The local emergency rooms are the pits of hell, but better than what we had available 20 years ago. Unfortunately, our doctors rarely, if ever, see patients on an impromptu basis. I’m suffering from some, if not all, of the same symptoms as Mr. Holland, and like him, I’m waiting until I’m near death to get help.
On a happier note, to read of another example of our police officers using outstanding judgement, says a lot for our police department and its leadership. Thank you for coming forward with this story.
What a horrendous medical episode Mr Holland suffered. He’s lucky his wife came home and called an ambulance. I’m glad that he finally got diagnosed and treated and wish him a speedy recovery.
Sadly I hear too many unfavorable long wait time stories about our local ER at Piedmont Hospital. I can only assume they are overtaxed and under staffed . And yes, it is often true that its increasingly difficult to see one’s doctor on an emergency basis.