By Jennifer Leahy
The Houston Chronicle
Officer Down: Deputy Sheriff Craig Miller
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — A Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputy was killed in the line of duty Thursday evening in a traffic accident on a frontage road just off the Katy Freeway.
The 20-year veteran was working an undercover assignment when the fatal crash occurred shortly before 8 p.m.
Authorities said the deputy was traveling east on the feeder road near Don McGill Toyota when a white delivery truck pulled out of the dealership’s driveway. The driver of the truck then crossed four lanes into the path of the deputy’s sports utility vehicle, said Capt. John Martin, Sheriff’s Office spokesman.
The SUV became airborne on impact and landed on a raised concrete embankment which separates the feeder road from the Katy Freeway.
Firefighters had to cut the deputy from his SUV. He died at the scene.
The name of the deputy was withheld late Thursday as family members were notified of his death.
“I can’t even imagine what the family must be going through,” Martin said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
It was the Sheriff’s Office’s first death in the line of duty since 2002.
No charges against the driver of the truck have been filed, but the person could face charges of criminally negligent homicide, Martin said.
“We are still trying to determine what the contributing factors are in the accident,” he said.
No further information was available early today.
Copyright 2008 The Houston Chronicle