April 28, 2024
LANETT, Ala. (AP) — A Georgia sheriff's deputy was fatally injured when he was struck by another police vehicle at the end of a high-speed pursuit that crossed over into Alabama.
Coweta County Deputy Eric Minix died early Thursday morning after chasing a stolen vehicle, the sheriff's office wrote on social media, and “during the apprehension of the suspect Eric was struck by a police car and was pronounced dead at an area hospital.”
“We have lost a good deputy. We have lost a good man. We have lost a good friend,” the sheriff’s office wrote. Minix, who was also a K-9 officer, is survived by a wife and three daughters.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said that Minix, 31, was getting out of his patrol vehicle when he was struck by an SUV driven by a police officer from Lanett, a city in Chambers County that's just across the state line from Georgia. The crash occurred at 11:55 p.m. Wednesday on Interstate 85.
The Lanett Police Department said several Georgia law enforcement agency vehicles were involved in what it described as a high-speed chase. The department said the Alabama officer has been put on administrative leave during the investigation.
The officer, identified as Cornelius J. Robinson, was responding to assist Minix in the pursuit of a Dodge Challenger that had been reported stolen, the agency stated.
“Please keep all involved in your thoughts and prayers,” the Lanett Police Department wrote in a social media post.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said the driver of the stolen car, identified as Decedric Donson, 25, of Pensacola, was arrested and charged with receiving stolen property and attempting to elude law enforcement. Alabama court records did not immediately show if he has an attorney to speak on his behalf.
