Pickup truck hits and kills longtime Texas deputy helping at crash site

A Texas deputy was helping people at a crash site when a pickup truck hit and killed him.

The truck hit 50-year-old John H. Coddou, a deputy investigator with the Harris County Sheriff's Office, while he was on duty around 9:40 a.m. on Tuesday. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the office said they were "deeply saddened" by his death.

Coddou was at a minor crash between two vehicles on State Highway 99 in Harris County, Senior Deputy Thomas Gilliland told USA TODAY. Coddou parked his sheriff's car on the left side of the road behind the wrecked vehicles and turned on his interior emergency lights before checking on the drivers.

As he walked back to his car, a 65-year-old man driving a Chevrolet Silverado 2500 hit Coddou before stopping next to a cable barrier.

Driver was talking on the phone

Coddou was unresponsive at the scene and officials performed CPR on him. He was then taken to a hospital in Houston, where he was pronounced dead.

The driver of the Chevrolet told police that he was talking on his hands-free cellphone when he saw Coddou’s car.

"'The driver did not have time to stop and made a faulty evasive maneuver to the left into the grassy median," Gilliland said.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office is continuing to investigate.

Coddou worked at agency for over 20 years

Coddou worked at the agency for 20 years in the Violent Crimes Unit as an investigator, according to the office. He joined the department as a detention officer in 2003 and became a deputy in 2005.

"We are grateful for the outpouring of support for our fellow fallen brother, Deputy Coddou’s family, friends, and teammates," Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez wrote on X.

Lt. Mike Nguyen, who knew Coddou since he started as a young deputy, described his friend and colleague as a dedicated officer. He said he believed Coddou would have assisted the crash site even if he was off duty because he knew it was a dangerous scene.

Nguyen shared that he used to call him Caillou, based off the children's television series, and would tease him about the shorts he wore when riding the police bicycle. Yet it's Coddou's passion for his job and selflessness that he'll remember him most by.

"He was always there. Always willing to answer and just always happy to be there," Nguyen told USA TODAY. "He wasn't the guy that just said 'Hey, I'm having a bad day today. I'm just gonna sit under a tree and do nothing.' He always came to work ready to work."

The sheriff's office and local public safety agencies participated in a procession Wednesday morning to honor Coddou. Nguyen said he it was great to see the law enforcement community come together during a tragic circumstance.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pickup truck hits, kills Texas deputy helping at crash site