Duty Death: Ivan Lopez - [Mount Vernon]
End of Service: 22/08/2022
By Ashley Remkus
al.com
MOUNT VERNON, Ala. — A police officer in south Alabama died in a crash on Monday evening, officials said.
Officer Ivan Lopez worked for the police department in Mount Vernon, a town of about 1,300 people in Mobile County.
“I join all Alabama law enforcement in mourning the loss of Officer Lopez and in offering condolences to his family and colleagues,” said Steve Marshall, the state attorney general, in a press release on Tuesday afternoon.
The crash happened just after 7 p.m. on Alabama Highway 59 in Summerdale in neighboring Baldwin County. Summerdale police Chief Kevin Brock told news reporters at the scene that the officer was driving home when a pickup truck sped through a stop sign and hit his vehicle. Marshall said Lopez was about to end his shift and traveling home in his police vehicle.
The Summerdale Fire Department reported a second crash at the scene where the officer died. A speeding vehicle crashed as crews worked in the area, according to the department. That driver went to a hospital by helicopter.
“Luckily no responders were injured,” says a post on the fire department’s Facebook page.
The attorney general’s office said Lopez is the ninth Alabama law enforcement officer killed this year. Five of those deaths are attributed to COVID-19. J’Mar Abel, a Chambers County deputy, died in an on-duty crash in June. Brad Johnson, a Bibb County deputy, was shot and killed days later.
State Rep. Shane Stringer offered prayers for Lopez’s family, friends and coworkers.
“We are also praying for the Mount Vernon community during this time of loss,” Stringer said in a Facebook post. “Rest In Peace brother!”
Other departments also offered condolences to the Mount Vernon community.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends, and brothers and sisters in blue of the Mount Vernon Police Officer killed last night in Summerdale, Alabama,” says a post on the Loxley police Facebook page.
©2022 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit al.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC