KILGORE, Texas (East Texas News) — One person died on April 18 after falling from a pickup truck and being struck by a Kilgore police patrol vehicle that was en route to the scene.
According to a report from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the victim, Anthony Merritt, had just left a bar and had been drinking.
Merritt was riding in the back of the pickup when he fell, according to a Kilgore Police Department statement that cites the DPS report.
A Kilgore police officer then responded to an automatic crash alert received via a mobile phone shortly before 1:30 a.m., which indicated that someone on the line could be heard gasping for breath.
The responding officer did not see Merritt, who lay in the northbound lane wearing dark clothing, until “the last second,” the statement said. The officer swerved sharply but struck Merritt with the underside of the vehicle.
The impact hurled Merritt into the outside lane, and the officer turned around and stopped. Merritt died at the scene.
While investigators were on the scene, more than an hour after the 911 call, a man arrived and said he had been transporting Merritt home when he realized Merritt was no longer in the bed of the pickup.
Police say the man showed several signs of intoxication and voluntarily underwent alcohol testing. He was not detained at the scene, as the department awaits the results of blood tests, according to a Kilgore Police Department statement.
The Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers are investigating the deadly crash at the request of the police department, according to the statement.
“The Kilgore Police Department will not comment further on this matter until the investigation is complete,” the statement said.
