Florida homicide agent killed by wrong-way driver while racing to a shooting scene

A veteran homicide investigator with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office in Florida was killed early Sunday when a driver going the wrong way on Interstate 95 slammed into his vehicle. He was on his way to the scene of a shooting involving deputies.

What happened on the interstate

State troopers said a witness saw a 2021 Nissan Sentra make a U-turn near mile marker 223 in Titusville and head south in the northbound lanes. Senior Homicide Agent Kevin Morris was driving north in the inside lane near mile marker 221 just south of State Road 46 when the car came straight at him.

The two vehicles hit head-on and both burst into flames. Firefighters and police from Titusville rushed to the scene but Morris and the woman driving the other car died there. Her name has not been released and investigators have not said why she was driving the wrong way. The Florida Highway Patrol is leading the investigation.

The call he was answering

Sheriff Wayne Ivey said Morris was responding to a shooting from Saturday night in nearby Mims. Deputies had gone to a home around 7:55 p.m. after a man asked them to check on his 79-year-old father who he feared was suicidal.

Deputies decided the older man qualified for an involuntary mental health evaluation. When a transport crew arrived the sheriff's office says the man pulled a gun hidden beneath him and pointed it at deputies. They fired and he later died at a hospital.

A long career of service

Morris spent roughly a decade with the Palm Bay Police Department before he retired there and joined the sheriff's office in 2021. He worked as a deputy before moving up to senior homicide agent in the criminal investigations division. Over his career he earned several commendations and a Life Saving Award.

Local leaders mourned him on Sunday. Titusville Mayor Andrew Connors asked residents to keep the families of both people who died in their thoughts. The sheriff's office said funeral plans will be announced later.