A retired Houston Police officer died and his wife, a current HPD officer, was critically injured when a teenager who was allegedly driving drunk hit their motorcycle during Mardi Gras in Galveston Saturday night.
Dana Tweedie, 61, and Linda Tweedie, 52, were driving along Seawall Boulevard at 7:40 p.m. when 19-year-old Callie Inman of Dayton ran into their motorcycle as she pulled out of a Valero parking lot at 69th Street and Seawall Boulevard, police said.
Inman, a former cheerleader at Dayton High School, was charged with intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault. She was taken to the Galveston County Jail with a $150,000 bond, according to Galveston police.
"This is a tragic situation that need not occur," Galveston police chief Henry Porretto said in a press release. "An impaired driver took a great member of the Houston community. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Tweedie family and the Houston Police Department."
The Tweedie family is rooted in the Houston Police Department. Bill Tweedie, Dana's brother, is an HPD sergeant. Dana Tweedie retired in 2008 after 26 years of service with HPD's central patrol. Linda Tweedie is a senior police officer with 27 years of experience assigned to the first-responder division, officials said.
"She has a great reputation -- a regular fixture at every fundraiser for other officers who are hurt in the line of duty," said Ray Hunt, president of the Houston Police Officers Union. "It's very tragic when you lose one of your own. It's like losing a family member."
The couple had one child together, a son who is in the military, Hunt said. He was able to return from assignment on Sunday to visit his mother, who remained in critical condition at an area hospital, Hunt said.
The Tweedies were attending Mardi Gras with officers in a motorcycle group, Hunt said.
HPD and the Galveston police departments plan to hold a joint blood drive this week.
Anyone interested in donating to the Tweedie family's medical or burial expenses can send money to the Houston Police Officer's Union, 1600 State Street, Houston, Texas 77007. Please note "Tweedie" in the memo line.
Copyright 2014 - Houston Chronicle
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
