BRYAN, Texas — An officer has been killed in a head-on crash while protecting other vehicles from a wrong-way driver, KBTX reported.
The Jan. 15 incident began with a forgery call at a bank in College Station, according to the report. When officers confronted a woman attempting to cash a fraudulent check, she fled in a black Jeep, leading police on a high-speed pursuit.
The pursuit was terminated when the suspect began driving south in the northbound lanes, but Department of Public Safety troopers continued to follow as the vehicle entered Grimes County, according to the report.
The Jeep collided head-on with Navasota Police Department Sgt. Mark Butler’s marked Chevrolet Tahoe, according to the report. Butler was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The suspect was declared deceased at the scene. Her identity has not yet been released.
Witnesses captured cellphone footage of the Jeep’s reckless, high-speed path, showing no signs of slowing before the collision, according to the report. One man witnessed the incident that led to Butler’s death and prevented his own.
“I don’t believe we would have made it out if it wasn’t for the officer,” Jonathan Crider told KBTX. “He selflessly gave himself up so nobody else would perish.”
Crider and his coworkers were returning to Bryan from a landscaping job when they encountered a black Jeep Wrangler speeding the wrong way in the northbound lanes, according to the report. In a split second, Sgt. Butler maneuvered his patrol vehicle into the Jeep’s path, shielding Crider’s truck and other vehicles from disaster.
“We changed lanes five seconds before the impact,” Crider recounted. “He didn’t swerve or brake. He sacrificed himself to save everyone behind us. I truly owe my life to him…The first thing I did when I got home was hug my son and cry,” Crider said. “I believe I made it home to my babies because of Sgt. Butler. We’ll never forget his sacrifice.”
