Duty Death: Jason Schweitzer - [Louisville]
End of Service: 29/10/2016
By Jack Brammer
Lexington Herald-Leader
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two pedestrians — including a Louisville police officer — were killed early Saturday when police say they were hit by a drunken driver on South Upper Street in Lexington.
Louisville police identified the officer as Detective Jason Schweitzer. The Fayette County coroner’s office identified the other victim as Timothy Moore, 56, of Lexington, a University of Kentucky employee.
Lexington police charged Suzanne M. Whitlow, 26, of Lexington, with two counts of second-degree manslaughter and one count of driving under the influence in the first degree.
Police said they responded about 2:30 a.m. Saturday to South Upper Street near Bolivar Street for an injury collision. They said Whitlow was driving outbound on Upper Street when for unknown reasons she lost control of her vehicle and struck two pedestrians.
The pedestrians were taken to a hospital but died of their injuries, police said. WKYT reported that the victims were standing on the side of the road and asking for directions.
Causes for the collision remain under investigation, police said.
The Louisville Metro Police Department Facebook page said Schweitzer began his career with the Jefferson County Police Department in November 2001 and has been a detective with the Louisville Metro Police Department in its 6th Division.
Louisville police also said Schweitzer has been vice president of the River City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 614 since 2010.
Schweitzer and his wife reportedly were expecting their second child.
Schweitzer, whose father was a Jefferson County Police Department officer, was in Lexington for an FOP convention, the Courier-Journal reported.
His biography on the website for Lodge 614 said Schweitzer began working in an FOP kitchen when he was 15 years old and had served as a trustee to the state lodge. He served on Lodge 614’s activities, scholarship and endorsement committees.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, Gov. Matt Bevin and U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth expressed condolences on social media.
The Courier-Journal reported that Whitlow pleaded guilty in February to driving on a suspended or revoked license.