Dallas police officer struck, killed by suspected drunk driver: Chief

A Dallas police officer was struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver while working an accident scene overnight, the chief said.

"Our hearts are heavy right now. This young officer had such a bright future ahead of him," Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said. "We asked that the community join us as we pray for the officer’s family. We would also like to extend that prayer to the brave men and women of this great department."

At about 1:25 a.m., a 32-year-old man "driving at a high rate of speed" hit officer Mitchell Penton's squad car, which had its emergency lights on, Dallas police said.

The impact caused the squad car to hit Penton, who was securing the scene of an accident, police said.

The driver was allegedly intoxicated and was arrested for intoxication manslaughter on a police officer and intoxication assault, police said.

Penton, an officer trainee who joined the department in February 2019, was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.

The passenger in the suspect's car was hospitalized "for trauma to her chest area and a laceration on her face," police said.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said in a statement, “Dallas mourns today over the devastating loss of one of our police officers. He died far too young, but the measure of a life is not longevity, but what someone does with the time they have. And this officer dedicated his time to serving our great city in an inherently dangerous job. We are forever indebted to him and forever heartbroken by this tragedy."