DPS Update: Beaumont Officer Dies In Line Of Duty

BEAUMONT – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is investigating a two vehicle fatal crash that occurred early this morning on US 69 at MLK Boulevard, involving two Beaumont Police Officers. The preliminary crash investigation indicates at approximately 2:30 a.m., a Beaumont Police Department patrol vehicle was traveling north. The driver of a 2006 Ford passenger car was traveling south in the northbound lane with no headlights and struck the patrol vehicle head-on. The driver of the patrol vehicle is identified as 28-year-old Officer Gabriel Fells from Beaumont. A passenger with Fells is identified as 23-year-old Officer Sheena Yarbrough-Powell, also from Beaumont. Fells was transported to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Beaumont for treatment. Yarbrough-Powell was pronounced deceased at the scene by a Jefferson Co. Justice of the Peace. The driver of the Ford is identified as 18-year-old Luis Torres from Port Arthur. Torres was also transported to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Beaumont for treatment. Investigators believe Torres was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash. A blood specimen was obtained and the results are pending. This crash remains under investigation. No additional information is available at this time.


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