On May 20, 2024, at approximately 10:15 AM EDT, plaintiff Marcus Williams (driving a 2020 Honda Accord, Georgia plate ABC-1234) and defendant Kevin Park (driving a 2022 Ford F-150, Georgia plate XYZ-5678) collided at the intersection of Peachtree Street and 14th Street in Midtown Atlanta. Williams was traveling northbound on Peachtree; Park was traveling eastbound on 14th. The impact occurred at approximately 10:14:58 AM, in the center of the intersection. Williams's vehicle repair estimate is $34,200; he suffered a cervical strain and mild concussion, was hospitalized for 3 days, incurred $8,500 in medical bills, claims $8,500 in documented lost wages, and seeks $15,000 for pain and suffering. Atlanta PD Traffic Unit responded and issued a report recording that both drivers claimed a green light and assigning 50/50 fault. Williams disputes that allocation and asks the jury to find Park 80% at fault. Park contends Williams was speeding, entered on a stale yellow, and failed to keep a proper lookout. The total damages claimed are $66,200.
Atlanta PD Traffic Accident Report
Officer Darnell Washington responded at 10:22 AM. Report assigns 50% fault to each driver. Finding: "Both drivers failed to yield right of way." Notes: "No independent witnesses located at scene. Both drivers claim green light. Intersection traffic camera system confirmed offline for maintenance since 05/18/2024 (two days prior to accident)." Key fact: the city's traffic camera that would have definitively resolved the signal dispute was offline. Williams's attorney argues the 50/50 finding is a default when the officer cannot determine fault — not an independent factual determination.
Plaintiff's dashcam footage (Garmin 67W)
Williams's forward-facing dashcam (Garmin 67W, 2K resolution, GPS-synced timestamp): Shows Williams approaching the intersection at 10:14:52. At 10:14:54, the traffic signal is visible and appears green for northbound traffic. From 10:14:55 to 10:14:58 (3 seconds), the video freezes on a single frame — the image is static but the GPS timestamp continues advancing. At 10:14:58, the video resumes showing the moment of impact (Park's F-150 entering from the right). Plaintiff argues: the green light is clearly visible at 10:14:54, 4 seconds before impact — a normal interval for an intersection approach. Defense argues: the 3-second freeze is suspicious and could indicate tampering or a memory card error that also affected the signal-state capture; the light may have changed to red during the frozen interval.
Defendant's dashcam status (missing footage)
Park's 2022 Ford F-150 is equipped with a factory-installed forward camera (Ford Co-Pilot360). Park states the camera "wasn't recording that day" because he had "turned off the dashcam feature to save storage." Ford's technical documentation confirms the Co-Pilot360 dashcam can be toggled off in settings. The system was actively recording from 9:00 AM to 10:10 AM, then the diagnostic log records a manual disable at 10:10 AM, approximately 4 minutes 58 seconds before the 10:14:58 impact. Plaintiff argues the timing is circumstantial evidence relevant to credibility; defense argues Park routinely toggles the feature off and the log does not establish why he did so or what happened at the intersection.
Intersection scene photographs and measurements
Atlanta PD photographs and measurements taken at 10:35 AM: Point of impact is approximately 8 feet into the intersection from the northbound lane (Williams's direction), and centered within the eastbound through-lane (Park's direction). Williams's Honda shows right-side front-quarter damage (passenger side); Park's F-150 shows front-end damage. Skid marks: none from Williams; 12-foot skid mark from Park's F-150 beginning approximately 6 feet before the point of impact. Plaintiff's accident reconstructionist argues: Park's 12-foot skid mark indicates Park saw Williams and braked late — consistent with Park entering the intersection on a red or late yellow. Defense argues: the impact position 8 feet into the intersection suggests Williams was traveling at significant speed — possibly indicating Williams entered on a yellow turning red.
Williams's medical records and vehicle repair estimate
Grady Memorial Hospital ER (May 20, 2024): cervical muscle strain (whiplash), mild concussion with brief loss of consciousness at scene, CT scan negative for intracranial hemorrhage. Hospitalized 3 days for concussion monitoring. Medical bills total $8,500. Peachtree Collision Center estimate: $34,200 for right front-quarter panel, passenger door, suspension components, and airbag replacement. Williams offers an employer letter supporting $8,500 in lost wages for 6 weeks off work and claims $15,000 for pain and suffering. The claimed total is $66,200. Park disputes the amount and challenges causation for the claimed wage loss and pain and suffering.
Dashcam forensic analysis (plaintiff's expert)
Digital forensics expert Dr. Nina Alvarez examined Williams's Garmin 67W SD card. Findings: "The 3-second freeze at 10:14:55–10:14:58 is consistent with a known firmware bug in Garmin 67W units running firmware v4.60 (Williams's firmware version confirmed). Garmin issued a patch for this bug in July 2024. The freeze is caused by a buffer overflow during high-bitrate recording at intersections with complex visual scenes. The file's hash integrity is intact — there is no evidence of post-recording editing or tampering. The green light visible at 10:14:54 is the last captured frame before the freeze." Defense objects: Alvarez was retained by plaintiff and may be biased; her "firmware bug" explanation has not been independently verified by Garmin; the fact remains that the signal state during the frozen 3 seconds is unknown.
Marcus Williams
Plaintiff witnessParty witnessThe plaintiff driver; age 34; works as a delivery driver for a logistics company; no traffic violations in 5 years
I had a green light — I'm 100% certain. I was going through the intersection at normal speed, maybe 30–32 mph in a 35 zone. Then out of nowhere, this truck came flying in from my right. I barely had time to react. The next thing I remember is the airbag going off. My dashcam shows the green light right there. The 3-second freeze is a camera glitch — it happens sometimes with that model. I didn't touch the file.
Kevin Park
Defendant witnessParty witnessThe defendant driver; age 29; marketing manager; has one prior moving violation (speeding, 2022, 15 mph over)
My light was green — I had a green when I entered the intersection. He must have run the red. I was going maybe 25 mph. I saw him at the last second and hit the brakes but couldn't stop in time. My dashcam wasn't recording because I turned it off earlier that morning — I do that sometimes when the storage is full. The timing was just a coincidence.
Dr. Nina Alvarez
Plaintiff witnessExpertPh.D. in computer science, Georgia Tech; specializes in dashcam and digital video forensics; 11 years of experience; has testified in 18 cases involving dashcam evidence authenticity
I examined the SD card from Mr. Williams's Garmin 67W. The 3-second freeze is a known artifact of firmware version 4.60 — Garmin acknowledged this bug and patched it in July 2024. The file's SHA-256 hash is consistent with an unmodified recording. There are no splice points, no metadata inconsistencies, and no evidence of post-capture editing. The green light visible in the last frame before the freeze (10:14:54) is the best available evidence of the signal state at that moment. I cannot state what the light showed during the 3-second gap — but I can confirm the footage has not been altered.
Intersection Collision Liability — Atlanta, GA
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