BRPD officer dies in traffic accident

[Juice]

I just passed this accident scene while at lunch today. Godspeed.



Mayor-President Kip Holden and Police Chief Jeff Leduff, stand near the body of a motorcycle officer who died Monday morning in an accident on S. Sherwood Forest Boulevard.

Cpl. L'Jean McKneely of the Baton Rouge Police Department has confirmed a BRPD motorcycle officer has died from injuries sustained in an accident on South Sherwood Forest Boulevard Monday morning.

Traffic was closed to through traffic on Sherwood Forest from Interstate 12 south to Coursey Boulevard from just after 11 a.m. to about 1:15 p.m.

The officer was struck by a car making a left turn near the intersection of Newcastle and Sherwood, according to Sgt. Don Kelly.

The officer, whose identity has not yet been released, died at the scene.

The driver of the car was taken to the hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries.

Tune in to WBRZ News 2 Louisiana for updates on this story.

[JayD]

Another casualty on the the "Thin blue line" that separates you
from the criminal element out there.......

God speed

[Doug]

Prayers for family and friends;
and for all the rest of us, left behind...

[Juice]

Full report and Video

Clicky (http://www.2theadvocate.com/)

[bayoubikebruiser]

The driver of the car was taken to the hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries.

The car absorbed most of the hit so her cellphone wasn't lodged deep enough to have hit that tiny brain.

[Ritten]

Prayers sent for the friends and family. May he rest in peace.

[Juice]

Name has been released.


http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/3563537.html

[Flying Low]

my prayers are with his family

[cajun66]

Cpl. Christopher Metternich

I new Chris. I work in the same building as BRCP Fleet Mgt. He always brought in his old HD unit for issues. He just had his new bike a couple months.He was super nice and an all around good guy. 31 years old.

[VM 2]

So, I wonder if this person is getting off with a slap on the wrist "failure to yield" ticket?

[dannyt]

So, I wonder if this person is getting off with a slap on the wrist "failure to yield" ticket?

Unless the person was DWI or driving recklessly. "failure to yield" is the only thing that they can be charged with.

[dannyt]

RIP brother

http://f10.putfile.com/thumb/8/22518324750.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=3203621)

[jason70360]

Total waste, he sounds like a great guy. I say "Thank you for your support and protection. You will be missed. Godspeed."

From the above picture you can tell the car must have turned in front of him at the last minute. Look at how deep the dent on the front fender is on the car.

[cajun66]

So, I wonder if this person is getting off with a slap on the wrist "failure to yield" ticket?
That and living with the knowledge that she is responsible for the death of a good man and a dedicated Cop. I hope she sees him laying on the asphault EVERY time she closes her eyes.

[HeReaux]

Hated to read this..
all yall be careful down there..

[Rocky]

RIP prayers sent for friends and family.

[Juice]

Arrest made in accident that killed BRPD officer

2theadvocate.com staff report
Published: Aug 31, 2006


An arrest was made Thursday in the Aug. 14 accident that claimed the life of Baton Rouge Police Department motorcycle officer Cpl. Chris Metternich.

Betty Morse, 63, 12074 Newcastle Ave., was charged with driving while intoxicated, vehicular homicide and vehicle turning left at an intersection, according to a statement issued by Cpl. L’Jean McKneely Jr. of the BRPD.

The accident occurred at the intersection of South Sherwood Forest and Newcastle Avenue.

Morse surrendered to authorities after an arrest warrant was issued, according to McKneely. She was booked into Parish Prison.

[RED]

I heard about the arrest yesterday on the radio. Obviously, this woman has issues, considering she was drunk so early in the day!!
I knew Chris for a long time, since he was a little boy! His sister & I are the same age & we went to school together Elem- High School.
Chris & Mary Katherine's mom was into everything that had to do w/ them. Their parents showed up for everything! They had a wonderful, loving family!
Chris & Mary Katherine were always very nice people, well behaved kids.
Chris was a good student, a wonderful person & he had the ability to become anything he wanted in life & he chose to become a cop & I am very rpoud of him!!
Losing a child has got to be the worst experience in life, losing a brother has to be horrible too, but when I think Of Chris' mom & sister & them losing him, it hurts alittle more b/c they were so much about each other, they were really an awesome family, the kind other children wish for.

[Juice]

The 64-year-old woman accused of killing a motorcycle police officer in a wreck in August pleaded guilty Wednesday to negligent homicide and first-offense driving while intoxicated.

Betty Morse, 12074 Newcastle Ave., Apt. 905, will not serve any jail time in the death of Baton Rouge Police Cpl. Chris Metternich. Instead, state District Judge Mike Erwin fined Morse, sentenced her to five years probation, and ordered that she continue the Alcoholics Anonymous program.

In addition, Erwin said he will order Morris to put up a memorial in Metternich’s memory, but the judge said he has not decided what that will entail.

Morse and her attorney Fred Crefasi were not available for comment after court.

Prosecutor Dana Cummings said Metternich’s family and Baton Rouge Police Chief Jeff LeDuff agreed to the plea.

“We feel this is a very just resolution,” Cummings said.

The case would have been difficult to prove to a jury, she said.

“This is a defendant who is 64 years old and has never had so much as a traffic ticket,” Cummings said after court. “We not only would have had to prove that she was driving under the influence. We would have had to prove that it was the cause of the accident.”

Two hours after the crash, which occurred at 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 14, Morse’s blood-alcohol level was .07 percent. In Louisiana, a driver is considered drunk with a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent.

Erwin asked Morse how her blood-alcohol level could have been so high at that time of the morning.

“I had been drinking the evening before,” Morse told Erwin.

But she said her memory of the night before, including the time she quit drinking, has been impaired by a head injury she suffered in the crash.

Morse also told Erwin that she is living on $856 in monthly Social Security payments. At the time of the crash she had a part-time job, but is not working now.

Police reported at the time of the crash that 31-year-old Metternich was driving his police motorcycle north on South Sherwood Forest Boulevard. Morse, heading south on South Sherwood Forest, attempted to turn left on to Newcastle Avenue and the vehicles collided.

Police have said she failed to yield while turning. Metternich was thrown from his motorcycle when he struck the side of Morse’s car, police have said.

Paramedics took Morse to Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center with serious injuries. At the hospital, fluids were drawn and her blood-alcohol level was determined, police said.

Seventeen days after the wreck, Morse was booked with driving while intoxicated, vehicular homicide and making an improper left turn.

Vehicular homicide carries a sentence of two to 30 years in prison.

Cummings described the ordeal as tragic because Metternich had devoted his life to public safety.

“Maybe it will give people pause before they drink and drive,” she said.

Morse is scheduled to return to court March 7. Erwin should have decided by then on the appropriate memorial.

[kenwelshons]

I'm sorry... I am a firm believer that if you are at fault in ANY accident where a life is taken you need to spend time in jail and not just a week either. Accidents are avoidable and if the penalties were tougher then people would start to take driving seriously.

It is ashame that this woman doesn't spend 10 years in jail...

[lovethewater72]

I'm sorry... I am a firm believer that if you are at fault in ANY accident where a life is taken you need to spend time in jail and not just a week either. Accidents are avoidable and if the penalties were tougher then people would start to take driving seriously.

It is ashame that this woman doesn't spend 10 years in jail...


I agree!!

[Ritten]

I'm sorry... I am a firm believer that if you are at fault in ANY accident where a life is taken you need to spend time in jail and not just a week either. Accidents are avoidable and if the penalties were tougher then people would start to take driving seriously.

It is ashame that this woman doesn't spend 10 years in jail...



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