East Texas Officer Hits Pedestrian in Roadway, Investigation Underway

Texas Rangers and the Department of Public Safety are now investigating an incident in Kilgore where a police officer hit a pedestrian lying in the roadway.

What Happened in Kilgore That Night?

The details were released on the Kilgore Police Department Facebook page regarding the incident that took place on April 18 at approximately 1:26 a.m. There was an automatic 911 call made from a smartphone when a phone detects a severe impact and no response from the user.

Officers then responded to the reported location triggered by the smartphone’s crash-detection feature. At the same time there was another Kilgore Police vehicle that was responding to a separate call on State Hwy 135. That call was in reference to a man falling out of the bed of a truck.

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How the Incident Unfolded

A pedestrian wearing dark clothing was lying in the northbound lane. The officer did not see the pedestrian until they were close to hitting him. The officer swerved but struck the victim with the undercarriage of the vehicle.

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Who Was the Victim?

The pedestrian was identified as 21-year-old Anthony Merritt; he was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:10 a.m. The pedestrian had been at a bar and was drinking, but toxicology results are still pending.

While investigating that scene a man ran to officers looking for Merritt. The man was driving Merritt’s pickup. Merritt had been riding in the bed of the truck, as the two men were headed to Whitehouse when the driver realized Merritt was no longer in the bed of the truck.

Officers noticed the driver of Merritt’s truck was showing signs of DWI, and they began an investigation with the driver submitting to testing and a blood sample. The driver was not arrested at the scene. Blood results are still pending.

Merritt’s family arrived on scene, and Chaplains were made available to the family.