Caddo Parish Deputy killed while responding to morning crash identified

CADDO PARISH, La. (KSLA) - A deputy with the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office is dead after responding to a crash.

The Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office has identified the Auxiliary Deputy as Lonnie Thacker, Sr., 82, of Keithville.

“Lonnie Thacker was a dedicated member of the Caddo Sheriff’s Office and we are saddened by this loss,” Sheriff Steve Prator said in a Facebook post by the sheriff’s office. “The contributions of our auxiliary deputies are so important to our operation and greatly valued by me and all of our deputies. I know he took pride in his work and enjoyed the contribution he was making to his community. His service will never be forgotten. We extend our most sincere sympathies to his family and ask that the community pray for them.”

The post continues:

“Thacker joined the Sheriff’s Auxiliary Program in May of 2001. The program enlists trained volunteers to assist in the Patrol Division and other areas of the department. They receive no pay for their service. Thacker regularly logged over 500 volunteer hours a year helping patrol deputies with duties such as traffic control, funeral escorts, and neighborhood patrols. He was passionate about litter abatement and keeping the parish clean, according to his supervisors, and he assisted at many CPSO youth programs, including the Youth Firearms Safety Education Camp, Crime Scene Investigations (CSI) Camp, and Sheriff’s Safety Town.

‘He was one of those all-around guys who if you asked him to do something he would do it, but he preferred being in a patrol car,’ said Sgt. John Hay, who supervises the Auxiliary Program.

Thacker previously served in the U.S. Army and retired from the Caddo Parish Commission in 2004.”

The sheriff’s office says it all started with a two-vehicle wreck on Friday, July 23 around 8:30 a.m. on I-49 N at mile marker 228.

Officials with the sheriff’s office said workers were in the process of cleaning up debris from the crash and were reopening the road when Thacker’s vehicle was hit.

Louisiana State Police’s investigation found that Thacker was sitting in a parked, fully marked CPSO 2010 Chevrolet Impala that was positioned in the right lane with emergency lights activated, for additional visibility and for traffic control.

At the same time, a 2021 Kia Seltos, driven by Madison Campbell, 21, of Ida, was traveling on I-49 northbound, approaching the lane closure. Campbell failed to observe the marked unit, which was blocking the lane, and struck the rear of the CPSO unit, causing both vehicles to exit the roadway.

Campbell was restrained at the time of the crash and was transported to a local hospital, where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Thacker was pronounced dead on the scene.

LSP says impairment is not expected to be a factor in the crash, however, routine toxicology samples were taken and submitted for analysis.

The crash remains under investigation.

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