Hardin County deputy and wife die in Elizabethtown crash. What we know

A Hardin County deputy and his wife died Sunday when a car collided with the motorcycle they were riding, officials from the Kentucky State Police said.

Just after 8 p.m., a Kentucky State Police trooper on patrol came up on a collision at the intersection of the U.S. 31W Bypass and the westbound ramp to the Western Kentucky Parkway in Elizabethtown. In a preliminary investigation, KSP determined a 2023 Harley Davidson motorcycle driven by Deputy Billy Edwards, who was off duty at the time of the crash, was struck by a 2024 Buick Envista.

The driver of the Buick, 20-year-old Cameron Harris, had attempted to make a sharp right turn onto the parkway exit ramp, officials said in a news release. The collision caused Edwards to lose control of the motorcycle, and both riders were ejected.

Both Billy, 67, and Kathy Edwards, 58, were pronounced dead at the scene by the Hardin County Coroner's Office, Kentucky State Police Trooper Scotty Sharp told The Courier Journal. Billy was a school resource officer for the Hardin County Sheriff's Office.

Harris and a passenger in the Buick reported no injuries, KSP said in the news release.

The portion of the U.S. 31W Bypass where the collision occurred reopened Monday following a brief closure, but troopers continue investigating in the area, Sharp said.

In a statement, Hardin County Schools Superintendent Teresa Morgan said Billy was "well-loved by the students and staff" at Creekside Elementary, where he had worked as a school resource officer since January.

"He was passionate about their safety and dedicated to ensuring that students learned in a safe and compassionate environment," Morgan said in the statement. "We offer our deepest condolences to the Edwards family, their friends, the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office family and, the steadfast group of (Hardin County school resource officers), our community of devoted law enforcement officers."

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This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Hardin County deputy and wife die in Elizabethtown crash. What we know