NEWS

Ex-cop killed in funeral crash was 'warm, friendly'

Emilie Eaton, Henry Molski, and Rebecca Butts
Cincinnati
Monday May 11, 2009. POLICE MEMORIAL. Officers, family members and supporters gather on Fountain Square for the annual police memorial. Woodlawn Police Officer George Brooks and his son Brandon attend the memorial. Brandon wears Brook's old badge from another department (Forest Park) from which George retired.

Greater Cincinnati police departments are mourning the loss of a retired police lieutenant who died after his motorcycle struck a car as he was leading a funeral procession Saturday evening in West End.

Lt. George Brooks, 63, died before midnight Sunday from injuries sustained in the crash, according to Lt. Jeff Larsh of the Forest Park Police Department, where Brooks had served.

This is the second time since 2011 that an officer has died in a crash while leading a funeral procession. Roy Sims, a Northern Kentucky University officer, died in August 2011 after his motorcycle ran into a hearse.

Brooks spent 25 years with the Forest Park Police Department and retired in 2005, according to Forest Park and Cincinnati police.

"George was a very friendly officer," said former Forest Park Police Chief, Steve Vollmar, 70, of Springfield Township. "He always had a smile. He was a very warm, friendly person. The kind of officer you wanted on the streets."

Vollmar and Brooks worked together in the Forest Park Police Department for 13 years.

Brooks was rushed to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center with serious head injuries after the 1 p.m. Saturday crash, dispatchers said.

Police identified the driver of the second vehicle in the crash as Anton Palmer, 30.

Palmer was stopped on Lockhurst Lane and was trying to turn left onto West Liberty Street when he was hit by the motorcycle operated by Brooks, according to police.

"The driver was wedging his way out and thought he had a gap," said Jerome Harden, who was a part of the funeral procession. "That siren was already blaring loud -- way, way loud. I don't know how he didn't hear it."

Then, the car and the motorcycle collided, propelling Brooks 10 feet in the air, they said. Brooks was wearing his helmet.

"He got flipped way up into the air," said Lawrence McCarter, another member of the procession. "Then landed right on his side – hard."

Members of the procession said that they were on their way from Parish Church of Old St. Mary to Spring Grove Cemetery. There were about 30 cars in the procession.

On Saturday, police said they did not plan to charge Palmer, but the investigation is ongoing and could eventually lead to some charges being filed. Authorities said they do not believe that speed or impairment were factors in the crash.

The law states that drivers should yield to funeral processions, and charges could range from a misdemeanor to a felony, the police department said.

Ohio Revised Code 4511.451 states that drivers "shall yield the right of way to each vehicle that is a part of a funeral procession."

Once the lead vehicle in a funeral procession lawfully enters the intersection, the remainder of the vehicles may continue, even disregarding traffic "control devices or right of way provisions." Each car should continue with due care and avoid colliding with any other vehicle or pedestrian, the law states.