Louisville Officer Dies In Fiery Crash On Christmas Eve

LOUISVILLE, KY — A Kentucky police detective conducting a traffic stop was hit and killed by a driver suspected of being under the influence, Louisville Police Chief Steve Conrad said at a press conference broadcast via Facebook.

The detective, Deidre Mengedoht, 32, conducted the traffic stop around 2:09 a.m. on Christmas Eve. Conrad said Mengedoht was in the right hand lane of the highway with her emergency lights activated.

A semi-truck going east in the farthest right-hand lane struck the back of her car while she was inside, Conrad said. The collision pushed the detective's car into the pickup truck she had stopped.

The four occupants inside the pickup truck were not seriously injured.

Mengedoht's car caught on fire and the damage to the vehicle was "catastrophic," according to Conrad.

Conrad said Mengedoht had seven-and-a-half years of service with the department. He remembered her as someone who went above and beyond and would fight tirelessly to seek justice for victims whose cases she was investigating.

"I can't imagine what her family is going through," Conrad said. "Today, today of all days."

Conrad said a 60-year-old man, identified as Roger Burdette, was arrested and booked into the Jefferson County Jail. Burdette is charged with murder of a police officer and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs.

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