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Fiery Crash Claims Life of LA Officer

BALL, LA — State Police are investigating the death of a Ball police officer in a fiery car crash on U.S. Highway 165.

Officer Russell A. George was traveling southbound on U.S. 165 around 2:50 a.m. Sunday, “responding to a call for assistance by another Ball P.D. unit,” according to the State Police fatality report of the accident.

George’s 2009 Ford Crown Victoria, which was just north of the intersection of U.S. 165 and La. Highway 623, struck a bicycle that was lying unoccupied in the inside lane of the highway, causing George to lose control of his vehicle.

The vehicle then began to spin in a “clockwise rotation,” the fatality report states, traveling off the right side of the road and through a ditch.

At that point, the driver’s side of the police car struck several trees, came to rest and caught on fire.

George, 47, was unable to escape from the burning vehicle and was pronounced dead on the scene after other authorities arrived.

The official primary cause of the officer’s accident was listed as “object in roadway,” according to the fatality report.

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