Wednesday, May 31, 2017
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (AP) — The Latest on the death of a police officer during a pursuit in West Virginia (all times local):
11:15 a.m.
Officials in Bluefield, West Virginia, have released the name of a police officer who died in an accident during a pursuit of a suspected drunken driver.
Bluefield police administrative assistant Kevin Fleming says Lt. Aaron L. Crook was killed early Tuesday.
Fleming says Crook had been with the department for nine years and was a former U.S. Marine.
Funeral arrangements for Crook are pending.
Details of the accident haven’t been released. Three other officers were injured.
The suspect, 27-year-old Morgan Smith Walker, was arrested on multiple charges, including DUI causing death with reckless disregard.
———
8:30 a.m.
A man suspected of drunken driving faces multiple charges after a police pursuit in West Virginia ended in an accident that killed one officer and injured three others.
Mercer County Prosecutor George Sitler tells WVNS-TV that 27-year-old Morgan Smith Walker was arrested on charges including DUI causing death with reckless disregard.
Walker was being held in the Southern Regional Jail on $50,000 bond. Jail records didn’t list Walker’s hometown or indicate whether he has an attorney.
The name of the Bluefield officer who died early Tuesday was withheld pending notification of relatives. Two other city officers and a state trooper were treated at a hospital and released.
Details of the accident haven’t been released. State police are investigating.