A San Marcos Police officer is in stable condition after she was struck late Saturday while responding to a call on Interstate 35 by a vehicle operated by a suspected drunk driver. Authorities have arrested Neil Sheehan, 59, of Flower Mound, who has been booked into the Hays County Jail on a charge of intoxication assault of a public servant, a second-degree felony, and failure to slow causing serious bodily injury, a Class-B misdemeanor.
According to a city of San Marcos press release, San Marcos Police received a call around 9:39 p.m. Saturday for items in the roadway on I-35 just north of the McCarty Lane Overpass near the 202 mile marker in San Marcos.
Claudia Cormier, who has been an officer with the SMPD for three years, responded to the scene at 9:45 p.m.
However, dispatch soon received 911 calls that an officer had been struck by another vehicle in the same area. When officers arrived on scene, they found Cormier with “severe, life threatening injuries” after she had been struck by a 2000 Ford Expedition that had been driven by Sheehan, according to the release.
Cormier was transported to Seton Medical Center Hays in Kyle where she underwent emergency surgery. Cormier is currently in stable condition, but is sedated pending further surgeries, according to the release.
Law enforcement officials investigated and eventually arrested Sheehan. Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers, who assisted the SMPD in the investigation, obtained a warrant for Sheehan’s blood and results are pending.
SMPD’s Collision Investigation Team (CIT) and the DPS State Crash Teams are investigating the incident. Bond has not been set for Sheehan at this time.
“The San Marcos Police Department appreciates all concerns and well-wishes and asks for prayers for Officer Cormier’s recovery and for her family in their time of need,” said San Marcos officials in a statement.
