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Austin police mourn officer killed in line of duty crash
Officer Adam Traylor was rushed to the hospital where he spent 3 days fighting for his life, but he ultimately died from his injuries.
AUSTIN, Texas - A procession was held Sunday morning in memory of fallen Austin Police Officer Lewis "Andy" Traylor. Officer Traylor died after being involved in a crash on his way to an emergency call.
Interim Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon called him an incredible officer, husband, father, and friend who will be missed dearly by all. His fellow officers, friends, and family all say the same thing.
"Andy was just a fantastic person," said Ken Casaday, president of the Austin Police Association
Officer Andy Traylor was with the Austin Police Department for nine years and proved early on to be a hard worker.
"They'll remember him as one of the best cops to ever work at APD," said Casaday.
Cassaday is proud to say he called Officer Traylor a friend. He says Andy loved protecting his community, but he also loved supporting his wife and five kids.
"Andy would work five or six days a week to make sure the bills were paid and the kids had the education that they needed. That just shows you what type of a man he was. He just worked hard every day to make this community safe," he said.
July 28th was like any other workday for Officer Traylor when he got called to respond to a serious injury crash. It was while he was on his way there when a tractor-trailer made a U-turn in front of his vehicle and caused a very serious crash.
Officer Traylor was rushed to the hospital where he spent three days fighting for his life, but he ultimately died from his injuries.
"In the end, it was just horrific wounds that no human being would have ever recovered from," said Casaday.
Graham Jones, Executive Director of The 100 Club of Central Texas, knew his organization had to help the Traylor family after hearing about his death.
"We're the first response for first responders. We started preparing immediately and what we do is we hope for the best, but we prepare for the worst and that's what we did in this case," he said.
The 100 Club of Central Texas has a mission to provide financial assistance to families of fallen first responders immediately.
"So they know that they're not alone, but they know that there are people in this community, a lot of people in this community, that care about them," said Jones.
Jones says this is one small token his organization can give the family to make their journey a little less painful.
"It's an honor to work with them, I will tell you that. It's a true honor," he said.
The club says donations in honor of Officer Traylor and his family can be made here or by texting "100clubcentex" to 44321.
Officer Traylor will be remembered within the department and the community. Casaday says his friend was an organ donor. Another factor that makes Officer Traylor so great.
"While he was here, he was a hero and on the way out the door, he was a hero," said Casaday.
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