Officer Juan Nieblas Cruz

Juan Nieblas Cruz

Officer Juan Cruz was killed when his patrol car was rear-ended while he was investigating another accident on I-10, at the exit for Ruthrauff Road in Tucson.

He was sitting in his patrol car, which was parked in the left lane with emergency lights activated when the crash curred. The patrol car burst into flames and, as another officer attempted to free him, a small explosion occurred.

The vehicle that struck him had driven through a line of flares and didn't slow down before the impact. The driver of that vehicle, who turned 21 the day before the crash, was taken to a local hospital and a homicide investigation was started. The driver ad a BAC of .168. She plead guilty to vehicular manslaughter and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Officer Cruz had been with the department for 17 years. He is survived by five children and fiancee. He was planning on being remarried only two weeks after the incident.