A 54-year-old woman from Mound was arrested after she allegedly struck and killed a Wayzata police officer, 47-year-old William Matthews, while he was removing debris on Highway 12 Friday afternoon. Police Chief Mike Risvold called Officer Matthews “one of Wayzata’s finest.” Risvold held back tears as he told reporters, “This is an enormously sad day for us, and we pray for Bill and his family…. Today for us is about family, it’s about Bill’s family, it’s about our Wayzata Police Department family, and it’s about our community.”
Authorities are not providing details about what led up to the crash that killed Officer Matthews, but State Patrol Chief, Colonel Matt Langer says a criminal vehicular homicide charge “is a possibility.” Langer says it will be several weeks before the crash reconstruction report is finished. He says, “Rest assured that everything inside the vehicle, about the vehicle, around the vehicle, the roadway, the officer, and everything the witnesses said and will say, will be put together like a giant puzzle with an outcome that hopefully provides answers.”
Officer Matthews was with the Wayzata Police Department for nine years. He leaves behind a wife and seven-year-old son.
Here’s the news conference, beginning with Chief Risvold, courtesy of KSTP: