A veteran Dallas police motorcycle officer was fatally struck by a suspected drunk driver early Saturday while working a funeral escort along Interstate 20, police Chief Renee Hall said at a news conference. Senior Corporal Earl Jamie Givens, a 32-year veteran of the Police Department, was taken to Baylor Hospital in Dallas, where he was pronounced dead.
The crash happened about 5:40 a.m. near eastbound I-20 and Bonnie View Drive. Police were escorting the body of a fellow officer, Sr. Cpl. Tyrone Andrews, from Laurel Land Funeral Home to East Texas.
Givens was blocking the Bonnie View entrance ramp of eastbound I-20 for the escort when he was stuck by a Kia Sportage SUV "at a high rate of speed," Hall said. Givens, who had been in the motorcycle unit since 2012, had been stationary on his motorcycle with his emergency lights on.
A source told WFAA that the suspect blew a .19 on a blood-alcohol breathalyzer test, more than twice the legal limit of .08. Breedlove remained in jail Saturday and was charged with Intoxicated Manslaughter and Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon.