Fort Wayne, IN : Sheriff’s reserve officer dies in downtown crash on Thursday, September 18, 2014

A reserve police officer with the Allen County Sheriff’s Department was killed Thursday when a semi turned into his path in downtown Fort Wayne, authorities said. Carl H. Harz, 49, of Fort Wayne, was a reserve officer for six years and worked as a sergeant in the department’s field services division, according to the sheriff’s department and the Allen County Coroner’s Office. He was also a radio technician for the Fort Wayne-Allen County 911 call center. “I feel deeply for his family, friends and co-workers who have suffered this loss today,” Allen County Sheriff Ken Fries said. Harz and the semi were headed east on Jefferson Boulevard when the semi turned north on Ewing Street and Harz’s motorcycle hit it, according to the Fort Wayne Police Department. Harz was not responsive when rescuers arrived, and he died at the crash scene, police said. He was not wearing a helmet and died from blunt force trauma, the coroner’s office ruled. The field services division of the sheriff’s department handles calls about domestic animal and livestock issues, such as strays, bites, cruelty or neglect. Officers in that division are also trained in basic accident investigation and may occasionally take general calls for service from the public. “Carl was a great asset to the reserve organization and will be dearly missed,” Fries said. Police continue to investigate the crash, including interviewing the semi driver and witnesses and reviewing any nearby surveillance video that may have recorded the crash. Source : Sheriff’s reserve officer dies in downtown crash