Local artist’s tragic accident
June 4, 2008 at 11:29 am by Mara Shalhoup in News
Atlanta artist and DJ Vikki Vaden was driving home from the old Youngblood Gallery space in Grant Park one night when, suddenly, her world was turned upside-down.
At around 1 a.m. Vaden, her two dogs, and her roommate, Suzy Moran, left the gallery, which Vaden had recently rented and was sprucing up. She steered her Volkswagen Passat wagon through the side streets of Grant Park and approached Boulevard from Rosalia Street. She was in the midst of turning left onto Boulevard, to get to their house on the other side of the park, when a cop car traveling north on Boulevard slammed into them. Vaden says there was no siren.
The force of the impact threw one of the Passat’s axles more than 15 feet from the car, Vaden says. One of her dogs, a hound-mix named Sadie, also was thrown. Vaden says she and Moran crawled through the debris to try to save her. But it was too late.
Vaden’s other dog, Sadie’s sister Maybelle, was pinned inside the wreckage. Once they were able to pull her out, they realized that Maybelle’s back legs weren’t moving.
Vaden and Moran were taken by ambulance to Grady Memorial Hospital, where they spent the night. A friend took Maybelle to an emergency vet, where she underwent a $6,000 spinal surgery. Maybelle’s vet gives her an 80 percent chance of walking again. Vaden says that yesterday, ten days after the accident, Maybelle finally managed to wag her tail.
Vaden and Moran, who DJ the twice-monthly “Fringe Factory” psychedelic rock night at the Highland Inn Ballroom, are planning several fund-raising events for Maybelle’s vet bills. We’ll update those events here. To donate via PayPal, donations will be accepted at maybellefund@yahoo.com.
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June 13th, 2008 at 9:27 am
I am so sorry to hear this.
The Zone 3 precinct has received numerous complaints about hazardous driving on Boulevard, Cherokee, and Georgia Avenue. I have had two near run-ins myself with police cars with no sirens (and no lights) driving over the speed limit and skirting traffic rules.
I only hope that this sad incident knocks some sense in to the police officers. We are grateful for their work and their committment to respond to our calls, but driving like this risks more lives than it saves.
June 13th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Anybody who has read many of my posts knows that I am a big supporters of law enforcement officers. That said, if the cop was doing anything wrong, the city will likely have the privelege of handling Maybelle’s bills, as they should.
June 17th, 2008 at 10:44 am
This is so sad.
The city should have to pick up
the vet bill and hopsital bill and everything else.
It’s ridiculous all the people who are killed and injured (and pets too!!!) due to cops, car chases, etc. There is nothing out there worth more than a LIFE!!!!!
My dad was a cop and cops not following the laws they enforce are an embarrassment to the cops that do!!!
August 11th, 2008 at 10:17 am
I’m sorry my neighbor the cop was on there way to Cabbagetown most likely . The cop who showed up at my door said there was a car wreck with a police car and another car .