A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper with Houston area ties died in a crash while investigating another wreck, the agency announced.
According to DPS, a vehicle hit Trooper Kevin Alexis Ramirez Vazquez on State Highway 302 in Ector County in west Texas on Sept. 17. First responders rushed the 25-year-old to an Odessa hospital before a medical helicopter flew him to a Lubbock-area facility.
He died from his injuries on Sept. 28, DPS said.
“There are no words to ease the loss of one of our brothers in uniform,” DPS Director Steven McCraw said. “Texas Highway Patrol Trooper Kevin Alexis Ramirez Vasquez served this state honorably to his very last breath. His commitment to keeping the roads safe, protecting the people of Texas and the sacrifice he made will never be forgotten.”
On Tuesday, Ramirez Vasquez’s DPS colleagues escorted his body through Houston. The agency posted photos on social media of a flag-draped casket arriving on an airplane and loved ones awaiting the plane’s arrival.