Rex

Incident

K9 Rex was killed when his handler's patrol car was struck by a suspected drunk driver in Detroit at about 1:05 am.

His handler was assisting with the closure of Route 10 at Linwood Street due to flooding and had positioned his patrol SUV across all lanes of traffic. The road had already been closed for several hours when another vehicle struck his vehicle at a high rate of speed.

K9 Rex suffered serious injuries and died after being transported to BluePearl Pet Hospital in Southfield. His handler, as well as multiple occupants of the other car, were injured. A female passenger in the driver's car was killed.

The driver, who had five previous drunk driving convictions, pleaded guilty and was given a plea deal of 17 to 40 years in prison.

K9 Rex and his handler were assigned to the Metro South Post.