The Associated Press
ORMOND BEACH, Florida (AP) - A police officer died after he was struck by a car while investigating a minor traffic accident.
Officer Robert F. Grim, 60, was killed instantly after he was hit by a car driven by 21-year-old Mishanna Coates late Friday night, Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Kim Miller said.
Grim was standing in an inside lane of an intersection near a tow truck that on scene when he was hit at about 11:45 p.m.
Miller said that a passenger in Coates’ car suffered only minor injured and was not taken to a hospital. A blood sample was taken from Coates and charges are pending, Miller said.
“We do believe this case is alcohol related,” she said.
Grim was the first Ormond Beach officer killed in the line of duty, said Sgt. Kenny Hayes, a police spokesman.
He joined the department in April 2003, but had served in police services for 36 years, including 23 years with the Daytona Beach Police Department. He is survived by a wife and three children.
“This is a tough one,” Hayes said. “He’s just the kind of officer everyone looked up to, young and old. He was a good mentor for a lot of the officers here.”