A Montgomery County, Texas sheriff's deputy was killed early Sunday after being struck by a vehicle, the sheriff's office confirmed. According to FOX 26 Houston, the deputy died following an overnight crash on I-45 North near Lake Woodlands, where a live report from the scene described a tragic and still-active investigation.
The crash happened overnight on the busy interstate north of Houston. According to officials, the deputy was struck by a vehicle while she was responding to an earlier traffic crash on Interstate 45, in an incident that involved multiple vehicles and left one deputy dead and a second injured as crews worked the scene through the morning.
The deputy who was killed was identified as Erica Serrato, 24. According to officials, she was struck by a commercial truck and was taken to a hospital, where she died of her injuries. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said Serrato was a six-year veteran of the agency who had been committed to public service since she was 18 years old.
A second deputy involved in the incident was identified as John Hernandez. According to the report, Hernandez was injured but is expected to be okay, leaving the agency to confront the loss of one of its own while a colleague recovers from the same crash.
Sheriff's officials held a news conference a short time after the crash, describing the loss as a tragedy. One official said the death was hard to take in a community that appreciates law enforcement, remembering Serrato as someone who had just finished a call on her shift and was smiling. The sheriff's office said its deputies were heartbroken and that the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office stands together.
The incident forced the closure of the northbound lanes of I-45, and authorities said law enforcement would remain at the scene for an extended period. The Texas Department of Public Safety is assisting in the investigation as officials work to determine exactly what happened.
According to the early information shared at the scene, the driver involved did not appear to be intoxicated. Investigators were still piecing together the circumstances of the collision that claimed the life of a Montgomery County deputy and injured another.