The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) mourns the loss of a highway trooper who perished in the line of duty last month. Trooper Kevin Alexis Ramirez Vasquez succumbed to injuries sustained while investigating a traffic crash at the age of 25 on September 28.

According to a September 29 press release issued by DPS, Ramirez Vasquez responded to the crash along State Highway (SH) 302 on the morning of September 17 when a passing vehicle struck him.

Originally rushed to Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, he was then transported to a Lubbock-area hospital where he passed away. DPS Director Steven McCraw said in the release that the late trooper "served this state honorably to his very last breath."

According to the release, Ramirez Vasquez joined DPS in 2023 after serving in the U.S. Army and the National Guard. He is the 241st DPS officer to die in the line of duty since 1823.

The DPS – Southeast Texas Region shared an October 1 Facebook video of troopers and other law enforcement officers escorting Ramirez Vasquez’s hearse through Houston. Ramirez Vasquez leaves behind his parents and three siblings, according to McCraw.