KEENE (CBSDFW.COM) – The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office reported Friday that one of its deputies hit and killed a pedestrian late Thursday night.

It happened just before midnight on Highway 67 about halfway between the town of Keene and Highway 67′s intersection with I-35W.

According to the Sheriff, the deputy was out on a welfare check call for a hitchhiker in the area.

Drivers along Highway 67 told dispatchers the man was walking along the shoulder, waiving his arms.

The 13-year veteran deputy was driving down Highway 67 when 56-year-old Rufus Wilson suddenly stepped out of the darkness of the shoulder right into the path of the patrol car. Wilson died at the scene.

Johnson County Sheriff Bob Alford said in a press release that he and the department expressed condolences to Wilson’s family.

Because it involves a Deputy, the Texas Department of Public Safety was called in to conduct the investigation.  The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said they will also conduct a separate investigation.

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