An on-duty Sheriff’s deputy was killed over the weekend after being struck by a vehicle in the Temple area of Bell County, Texas. According to the accident reports provided by the Bell County Sheriff’s Department, the fatal incident took place early on Sunday morning, April 26.

The fatal crash happened at about 1:45 am, on I.H.35, during a police pursuit of an unidentified motorist.

As reported, the fatal victim was among a slew of deputies from the Bell County Sheriff’s Department deployed to aid the William County Sheriff’s Office in a vehicle chase.

While in pursuit, the officer, identified as Deputy John Andrew Rhoden, a 31-year-old native of Norwood, took to the roadway on foot to deploy a series of spikes to stall the suspect.

However, a vehicle which was plying the highway at the time ran over the officer in the line of duty, causing fatal injuries. Rhoden died at the scene of the accident, the reports confirmed.

The fatal victim, who had reportedly worked under the Bell County Sheriff’s Department since June 2010, and was promoted to Field Deputy in August 2014, was assigned to midnight duty on the day of his passing.

No information was released in the accident reports concerning the identity of the motorist that struck the victim, or that of the suspect officers were trying to apprehend before the crash occurred.

The incident remains under investigation.

Disclaimer: The Accident News article you just read includes information obtained from numerous sources. These sources include, but are not limited to, websites and press releases from law enforcement, the county coroner, fire departments, and other news outlets. While we strive to provide readers with the most accurate information, sometimes the information received is not entirely accurate. For complete details, please refer to an official police report.

The articles published contain sensitive subject matter that may be hard to read by some. We understand that losing a loved one is hard and devastating. Accident News’s decision to share the stories is to help others who may be facing the same situations by providing appropriate resources to the general public.

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