Alabama Law Enforcement Agency officials say a DeKalb County, Ala., deputy was not wearing a seatbelt when he crashed into a guardrail early Tuesday and died.
Daniel Lee Mathews, 56 of Fort Payne, was driving on DeKalb County Road 27 about two miles west of Fort Payne when his 2012 Jeep Wrangler left the road, hit a guardrail and overturned at 3:15 a.m. CDT on Tuesday, said Curtis Summerville, spokesman for the state agency. Mathews was ejected and pronounced dead at the scene, Summerville said in a news release.
DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris said Wednesday in a statement that Mathews worked as a reserve deputy for the department for two years before becoming a deputy.
Mathews had been a deputy for the last four years and also worked for the Fort Payne Housing Authority, the sheriff said.
Harris described Mathews as “a good person and deputy,” and said the loss “is hard for us because we are like family here at the sheriff’s office.”
According to his obituary at Wilson Funeral Home’s website, Mathews was known for his “kind spirit, loving heart, easy manner and unending willingness to help anyone who needed it.” He was father to two children, his obituary states.
Summerville said the accident is still under investigation.