MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A man arrested in connection with an accident that left a Memphis Police officer dead will appear in court Monday.
Robert Earl Jackson, 54, was wanted for aggravated vehicular homicide. Police said at the time of the crash, Jackson was intoxicated — more than twice the legal limit. Jackson also has been charged with DUI, reckless driving and driving with a suspended license. He’s being held without bond.
According to authorities, Officer Nicholas Blow, 31, was leaving the Raines Station to head home from work when his car was hit by another vehicle around 10 p.m. Monday.
An accident report indicates a Ford F-150 pickup driven by Jackson hit Blow’s vehicle on the driver’s side.
That report says the officer was rushed first to Methodist Germantown, almost 20 miles away from the crash site. At 2:16 a.m., about four hours after the crash, Blow was airlifted to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville. But the helicopter was turned around mid-flight and returned to Memphis, where Blow was pronounced dead at Regional One.
Jackson was released from the hospital after treatment for injuries sustained from the crash on Friday morning.
WREG went to the last address listed for Jackson to get a statement, but the building appeared abandoned. A check of his criminal background in Shelby County showed a charge of driving without a valid license in 2002.
