Sgt. M.J. Crider was in stable condition at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta and scheduled to undergo surgery for non-life-threatening injuries on Tuesday.
Christopher Richards, 33, of Canton is suspected of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol during the chase from Cherokee to Cobb on Saturday night, police said. He is expected to face charges in both counties.
Richards was driving southbound on Interstate 575 when at 10:50 p.m. he crossed the grass median at Barrett Parkway, exit 1, continued south in the northbound lanes and smashed head-on into Crider's patrol car.
Police first tried to stop Richards in a shopping center parking lot on Bells Ferry Road in Cherokee County for suspicion of DUI, but he kept driving his silver Honda Civic and got onto the interstate.
Officers tried to stop him again on I-575 at Chastain Road, exit 3. Crider was supervising the pursuit of Richards in Cobb.
Cobb County Public Safety Director Mickey Lloyd commended Crider for his actions on Saturday.
"This officer was in the right place at the right time," Lloyd said. "No telling how many people could have been killed if that driver had made it into oncoming traffic."
Richards was flown by helicopter to Atlanta Medical Center and was reported to be in serious but stable condition.
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