{"id":355033,"date":"2026-06-29T23:44:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T23:44:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/355033\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T23:44:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T23:44:18","slug":"charges-filed-in-montgomery-county-crash-that-led-to-deputys-death-houston-public-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/355033\/","title":{"rendered":"Charges filed in Montgomery County crash that led to deputy\u2019s death \u2013 Houston Public Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\"Deputy<\/a><\/p>\n

Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office<\/p>\n

Deputy Erika Serrato was fatally struck by a vehicle on June 28, 2026, while directing traffic around an ongoing crash scene, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

A man is facing criminal charges as authorities north of Houston continue to investigate a Sunday morning crash that led to the death of a 24-year-old Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office deputy. <\/p>\n

On Monday, the sheriff\u2019s office announced that Ian Perez, 20, had been charged with Passing Certain Vehicles Causing Bodily Injury for allegedly failing to slow down or move over while passing emergency vehicles. Passing Certain Vehicles Causing Bodily Injury is a misdemeanor for first-time offenders. Perez may face additional or enhanced charges as the investigation continues, according to the sheriff\u2019s office. <\/p>\n

Another man tied to the crash scene, who did not strike the deputy, has been charged with driving while intoxicated, according to the sheriff\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

Sign up for the Hello, Houston!<\/a> daily newsletter to get local reports like this delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n

At approximately 2:39 a.m. Sunday, officers responded to a “multi-vehicle crash” on Interstate 45 North near the Woodlands Parkway exit, according to the sheriff’s office. The responding deputies were conducting a DWI crash investigation when Deputy Erika Serrato was struck by a heavy-duty commercial truck allegedly being driven by Perez, the sheriff\u2019s office said. Serrato was transported to a nearby hospital, where she was later pronounced dead due to her injuries. <\/p>\n

According to the sheriff\u2019s office, Serrato was outside of her vehicle directing traffic at the time of the fatal collision. <\/p>\n

“Our hearts are broken today,” Sheriff Wesley Doolittle said in a statement<\/a> Sunday. “Deputy Serrato made the ultimate sacrifice while serving and protecting our community. We ask that you keep her family, friends, and fellow deputies in your thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time. We grieve alongside them.” <\/p>\n

Another deputy at the scene was injured by debris and treated for minor injuries at a local hospital before being released, according to authorities. <\/p>\n

Ashton Jammer, 34, who allegedly caused the initial crash before the responding deputies were directing traffic, has been charged with DWI, the sheriff\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n

Perez was taken to a nearby hospital following the crash. Neither Perez nor Jammer could immediately be reached for comment. <\/p>\n

Serrato, who was assigned to District 2, had worked for the sheriff’s office for six years. <\/p>\n

According to the sheriff\u2019s office, the investigation into the second crash, which resulted in Serrato\u2019s death, has been taken over by the Texas Department of Public Safety. <\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s Note: This article was updated on June 29.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Erika Serrato was fatally struck by a vehicle on June 28, 2026, while…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":355034,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[294,126317,126318,520,56,58,57,865,66,7054,43610,223,672,126319,272],"class_list":["post-355033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-crime","tag-deputy-death","tag-dwi-investigation","tag-fatal-crash","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-law-enforcement","tag-local","tag-montgomery-county","tag-montgomery-county-sheriffs-office","tag-news","tag-police","tag-sheriff-wesley-doolittle","tag-traffic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}