Butler County sheriff’s deputy hits, kills walker with patrol car

A Butler County, Missouri, deputy is on paid administrative leave as authorities investigate a Sunday-night crash in which he struck a pedestrian who crossed Route T in front of his patrol car.

The accident happened just before 9:30 p.m. on Route T, about one-half mile south of County Road 569, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report.

Butler County Deputy Brian Kearbey was driving north in his 2012 Dodge Charger when he struck Charles R. Colbert III, 26, of Wappapello, Missouri, who was attempting to cross the road, the patrol reported.

Authorities said Colbert was walking with another man, who was "yelling for (him) not to go, that a car was coming, but he ran out anyway."

Colbert, whose father is a Missouri State Highway Patrol sergeant and who was home on leave from the military before being deployed, was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:45 p.m. by Butler County Coroner Jim Akers.

Akers said Colbert died from blunt-force trauma.

The crash is being investigated by troopers and members of the patrol's Major Crash Investigation Unit.

Kearbey, who had been a deputy since 2009, was en route to a report of a "suspicious-person call at the lake," according to Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs.

"He wasn't running lights and sirens, and from all indications (based on) his (car's) GPS tracker, he was running below the speed limit -- well below," Dobbs said.

Apparently Colbert, who was walking south on the northbound shoulder, "was preparing to cross the road to accept a ride from another vehicle" that had stopped on the southbound shoulder or lane, Dobbs said.

Witnesses reported Colbert "basically walked out in front of the path of Deputy Kearbey," Dobbs said. "Deputy Kearbey tried to swerve and take evasive action to avoid him, which was unsuccessful.

" ... Preliminarily, all indications indicate the deputy was driving in a proper manner. There is nothing that stands out to me that was improper; (it was) just an unfortunate accident."

Dobbs said Kearbey was placed on paid administrative leave "for the time being," which is department policy.

"It is one of those situations we have to feel our way through; it's a new situation for us," Dobbs said.

Pertinent address:

Route T and County Road 569, Butler County, Mo.