Texas deputy dies after being hit by truck while helping during accident

HOUSTON (AP) — Officials say a deputy who was a 20-year-veteran of a Houston-area sheriff’s office has died after being hit by a truck while trying to help a driver following a minor crash. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says that John Coddou had pulled over around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday to help following a minor accident northwest of Houston. He was in the road’s median when a white truck that had tried to avoid Coddou’s vehicle hit him. Coddou was flown by helicopter to a Houston hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Gonzalez says Coddou was a married Army veteran who had been assigned to the violent crimes unit of the sheriff’s office.