Texas Police Officer, Deputy Fire Chief Killed in Head-On Collision
What to know
• Kaufman Police Officer Austin Cooley, who also worked as a Hunt County deputy fire chief, died in a head-on crash Monday while driving home from his law enforcement shift, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).
• DPS said Cooley’s vehicle crossed into oncoming traffic and struck a pickup truck; he was pronounced dead at the scene.
• Investigators have not determined why Cooley’s car entered the opposite lane, and officials have not released information on injuries to the other driver.
The accident occurred near the intersection of State Highway 34 and County Road 2186, approximately one mile south of Greenville.
Texas Department of Public Safety officers responded to reports of a crash involving two vehicles, officials said in an emailed statement.
Officers said Cooley was driving northbound in his 2005 Honda Accord when it crossed into the southbound lane and collided head-on with a 2013 Dodge Ram pickup. Cooley was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators did not immediately say if they knew why Cooley drove into oncoming traffic.
He had been driving home from his job as an officer with the Kaufman Police Department at the time of the accident.
Cooley grew up in North Texas and attended Collin County Community College and Dallas College’s Eastfield Campus. He most recently lived in Wolfe City in Hunt County.
It remains unclear whether the driver of the truck was injured in the crash.
No further information about the incident was immediately available.
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