SAN ANTONIO — A 35-year-old man and officer with the Poteet Police Department, Jeffrey Richardson, was killed after he was struck by a 26-year-old woman believed to have been drunk behind the wheel, authorities say.
According to Austin Police, 26-year-old Lindsay Smith was arrested after hitting and killing Richardson on the city's north side around 2 a.m. Wednesday. First responders took Richardson to a nearby hospital in Round Rock, "where he later died."
APD officials say they took Smith into custody after performing a field sobriety test on her at the scene. She was booked into Travis County Jail on a charge of intoxication assault, where she remains behind bars on a $250,000 bond.
In a statement posted online, the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas union group said its members "have his family, friends and fellow officers in our prayers during this extremely difficult time."
In a separate statement provided by the Poteet Police Department, Chief Bruce Hickman thanks his colleagues in Round Rock, Austin and elsewhere "for their unbelievable show of love, concert and support" in the aftermath of the incident, adding that commuters exited their cars as Richardson's body was being escorted to Georgetown.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Richardson family," Hickman added. "We offer our sincerest condolence for this monumental loss."
Richardson had been with the Poteet Police Department since April 2021.
The investigation into the fatal crash remains ongoing.
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