Deputy Corporal David King, age 32, was assigned to the patrol division, working the graveyard shift. While on routine patrol, his dispatch received a 911 call stating a vehicle, occupied by an unconscious male, was stalled on a railroad crossing on FM 1960 west of Dayton. Corporal King responded, emergency traffic, with one of his fellow deputies to assist. He was approximately 2 miles west of Dayton when he encountered a loose horse standing in the roadway. He was not able to avoid hitting the animal which caused a head on collision. The horse went up and over the cab, crushing the roof of the vehicle. His car then left the roadway striking a cement culvert and was airborne when the vehicle struck an electric pole. He was unconscious when the second unit responding arrived on the scene. He was transported by Life Flight air ambulance to Herman Hospital in Houston where he succumbed to his injuries in the early morning hours of June 4, 2002.

Deputy Corporal King was a 7 year veteran of the Liberty County Sheriff's Office. Corporal King is survived by his father, John Wesley King of Winnie, and mother, Carolyn Maddox of Danbury.