A Texas sheriff's deputy was killed in a five-vehicle crash Thursday night while transporting an inmate from Oklahoma. Another deputy and the inmate were both critically injured and were flown by air ambulance to hospitals in Central and East Texas, the sheriff says.
Montgomery County Sheriff Rand Henderson confirmed Thursday that Deputy Charles Rivette was killed in a crash Wednesday night in Centerville, a small town along Interstate 45 in Leon County about 100 miles north of Houston.
"It's absolutely heartbreaking for all of us. We're still trying to figure out how to deal with it, how to cope with this," Henderson said.
Rivette and his partner, 37-year-old Deputy James Francis, were transferring a 38-year-old inmate from Oklahoma to Montgomery County, Texas when the crash occurred at about 10:30 p.m.
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The Texas DPS said a crash team was investigating the crash and that preliminary information indicated the sheriff's department's Chevrolet Tahoe was headed southbound on a darkened stretch of I-45 when it struck a Freightliner truck with no trailer. An occupant of the sheriff's SUV was ejected in the crash and was then struck by the driver of a F-150 pickup. The SUV came to a stop in the northbound lanes of I-45 where it was then hit by two tractor-trailers.
Rivette was killed in the crash. Francis and the inmate, whose name has not been released, were both critically injured and were flown to hospitals in Central and East Texas. DPS officials did not announce any other injuries in the five-vehicle crash.
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Francis was critically injured and was taken by air ambulance to a hospital in Tyler. Henderson said Thursday the deputy was awake and talking and is now in stable condition. Francis is married with children and is a 14-year veteran of the department.
The 38-year-old inmate was also critically injured and was taken by air ambulance to a hospital in College Station. His current condition is not known. Henderson said the inmate was being held for felony DWI.
Henderson said Francis and Rivette were partners who often worked together doing inmate transfers and that they had been in that unit for several years.
"The entire MCSO family is hurting from this loss and stands together in mourning the passing of Deputy Rivette," said the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office in a statement.
Henderson said Rivette is the department's first line of duty death since 1876 and that they're figuring out how to cope with the loss. Rivette was an 18-year veteran of the sheriff's department and had an adult son who began working for the department in December 2023 as a jailer.
"He's a brand new employee. He was with us last night with his mother. We're having a tough time. He's strong. He's going to be strong for his mother," Henderson said.
Rivette, Henderson said, was married and also had young children.
The DPS said the investigation into the crash is ongoing and some details may change.
