Northern Texas law enforcement officials are mourning the loss of a local sheriff, who died Sunday night in a wreck in Hutchison County, authorities reported this week.

Investigators said Kirk Coker, 57, of Borger, died at the scene of the incident, which occurred just after 11:45 p.m. Sunday not far outside Fritch. Coker, Hutchison County’s sheriff of three years, apparently suffered a “medical episode” that led to his demise, according to authorities.

Coker was driving east on Texas 136 just before midnight when he lost control of his vehicle, authorities said. The vehicle careened off the pavement and went into a ditch.

The vehicle continued, smashing through a barbed-wire fence and eventually hitting a tree, where it came to rest. The vehicle only sustained “minimal damage,” according to investigators, but Coker died at the scene. An autopsy will help investigators determine the official cause of death.

Coker had nearly three decades of law enforcement experience under his belt, colleagues wrote in a tribute posted to social media. The last 12-plus years had been spent at the Hutchison County Sheriff’s Department, which he had led for more than three years. He was up for re-election this fall.

“For those of us that were privileged to work with him, he was more than a leader,” officials from the sheriff’s department wrote in the social media post. “He was a friend and mentor with a heart as big as Texas.”

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.

Please follow and like us: