Oklahoma motorcycle officer fatally struck while on patrol

EDMOND, Okla. (AP) — A suburban Oklahoma City motorcycle police officer was killed when he was struck from behind while on patrol, authorities said.

Sgt. C.J. Nelson, 38, died Tuesday after being struck by a pickup truck just outside the Edmond city limits in Oklahoma City, according to Edmond police. Nelson would have marked his 13th anniversary with Edmond police on Wednesday and is the first Edmond officer to die in the line of duty, police said.

Oklahoma City police, who are investigating the crash, said Nelson was stopped with other vehicles at a traffic light when they were struck by a truck driven by Jay Stephen Fite, 54.

No other injuries were reported.

Fite was arrested on a warrant for second-degree murder or first-degree manslaughter and was jailed without bond, according to jail records. Court records do not show that formal charges have been filed as of Thursday and jail records do not list an attorney who could speak on Fite’s behalf.

Fite “simply plowed into the vehicles there, hit them at a fairly high rate of speed,” according to Oklahoma City police Sgt. Gary Knight. Investigators were trying to determine how fast Fite was traveling.

Knight said it was not known why Nelson was in Oklahoma City at the time, but noted that crash was just outside the Edmond city limits and said it is common for officers to cross into adjoining cities when on patrol.