Police Officer Lyndon Fred King

Lyndon Fred King

Police Officer Lyndon King was struck and killed by a drunk driver while working an accident scene on I-30 near the 7th Street overpass. He was standing in front of his patrol car when a truck slammed into the rear of it, causing it to spin around and hit Officer King. Officer King was transported to a local hospital but had succumbed to his injuries before his arrival.

On March 25, 1983, the 33-year-old driver of the vehicle was convicted of manslaughter, drunk driving, and sentenced to 10 years. Two months later he was convicted of drunk driving for an unrelated incident, while awaiting trial for Officer King's case. He was sentenced to three years and paroled on December 5, 1983. Two years later prison officials discovered they had made a big mistake. He was paroled after he had served enough of his three year sentence. Somehow they forgot about his 10 year sentence. A warrant was issued and the subject surrendered to officials in 1986. He was immediately paroled. He was given credit for his 2 1/2 years out of prison as if he was in prison the entire time. Officials said it was not his fault that he got out.

Officer King had served with the Grand Prairie Police Department for six years. He was survived by his wife, 18-month-old son, and mother.