Visitation, funeral services announced for fallen police officer

ST. LOUIS – Visitation and funeral services have been announced for a St. Louis police officer who was killed in the line of duty this past weekend .

Officer David Lee had responded to a one-vehicle crash on eastbound I-70 near Grand Boulevard around 8:30 a.m. Sunday. He was behind his police vehicle and retrieving traffic cones when another driver lost control of their car, spun out, and struck the officer.

Lee, an 18-year veteran of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, was rushed to the hospital after the crash in critical condition. He passed away that afternoon in the presence of family and friends. Lee was 44.

Visitation for Lee will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5 at Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church on Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, with the funeral service to follow.

Officer Lee is survived by his wife and two children, as well as his mother and sister.

Meanwhile, the man who struck Lee, 24-year-old Ramon A. Chavez-Rodriguez , remains jailed without bond. The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged him with DWI—death of law enforcement or emergency personnel, exceeding posted speed limit, and operating a vehicle on a highway without a valid license. Chavez-Rodriguez had been on probation for a second-degree domestic assault charge in St. Charles County in 2020.

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