LSO Deputy Killed in Car Crash
By: Lisa Carr
Updated: April 27, 2009
A head-on car crash in Southeast Lubbock County takes the life of a Lubbock Sheriff's Deputy and officials say the man who caused the fatal wreck is suspected of driving drunk. It happened around 12:20 Sunday morning at the intersection of MLK Blvd. and CR 7130.
KAMC 28 News cameras were first on the scene of a fiery car crash in Southeast Lubbock County just about twenty minutes after midnight Sunday morning. It was a head-on collision in which DPS officials say Lubbock County Sheriff's Deputy, 29-year-old Cpl. D. Harvey, was pronounced dead on the scene.
Cpl. John Gonzalez with Lubbock DPS says, "We had a major crash involving a Lubbock County Sheriff's Office vehicle and another unit at approximately 12:20 am right here on MLK and 88th street."
Dozens of first responders flooded the crash site. Lubbock police officers were directing traffic. EMS and Aerocare were taking those injured to area hospitals. Firefighters were battling the flames burning Cpl. Harvey's patrol unit. And, sheriff's deputies and DPS were trying to figure out exactly what caused the crash.
Cpl. Gonzalez says, "The officer [D. Harvey] was on duty. Apparently, several were responding to some kind of a disturbance. They were responding and apparently there was some other traffic out there."
Gonzalez says the other traffic was a pick-up heading southbound on MLK with 25-year-old Justin McKinney driving and 23-year-old Justin Walkup riding shotgun. Investigators say it appears McKinney was trying to turn left onto 88th street and smashed into the Corporal, who was coming northbound on MLK. Gonzalez says it's possible McKinney may have been driving drunk. He says, "That's under investigation right now."
Now both McKinney and his passenger are in stable condition tonight. Officials are waiting on blood tests to determine if they were intoxicated. We're told Cpl. Harvey had been with the LSO for the past seven and half years. He leaves behind a wife and two young sons.
