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Off-duty officer involved in deadly Mesquite work zone accident
An off-duty police officer was involved in a crash in Mesquite that left a worker dead, and the victim's girlfriend says the officer should face charges. FOX 4's Steven Dial has more.
MESQUITE, Texas - A 22-year-old father is dead after being hit by an off-duty officer working in a construction zone in Mesquite last month.
Highway construction worker killed
What we know:
The deadly accident happened around 11:30 p.m. on June 23 on Interstate 635 near Highway 80.
Mesquite police said a construction crew was in the process of moving a crane from the east side of the interstate to the west side.
Meanwhile, an off-duty police officer from the Southwestern Christian College Police Department, who was working at the construction site, began driving southbound on I-635 to set up for the next road closure.
The officer accidentally struck a construction worker who was guiding the crane across the freeway.
That construction worker, identified as 22-year-old Edwin Valdez, was rushed to the hospital but did not survive.
What we don't know:
There are still some unanswered questions about if the off-duty officer had any speed or visibility issues.
Mesquite police said the crash remains under investigation.
However, after consulting with the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, they do not expect to file any criminal charges.
Police did not release the name of the officer involved in the crash.
Victim’s grieving family speaks out
What they're saying:
Jazmin Torres told FOX 4 that she and Valdez were planning to get married sometime next year. They had a son together who is now 3 months old.
Torres is not satisfied with the DA’s opinion and thinks the off-duty officer should be charged.
"I find all of this upsetting just because he was supposed to protect Edwin, and he failed him. And I was told that he's actually a police officer as well, but he was just off duty. So, it's like, you're supposed to set the example for others, and like this is what you did. Like, like I truly want justice. And I mean, I'm pretty sure if it was the other way around, they would have, like they wouldn't have cared if we would have said, ‘Oh, if there was enough lightning.’ It's not fair. Just because you're an officer doesn't mean the law doesn't apply to you," she said.
The Source: FOX 4's Steven Dial gathered information for this story from the Mesquite Police Department and by talking to the victim's girlfriend.