Off-Duty Ky. Officer Thrown over 90 Feet in Fatal Hit-and-Run Crash

Aug. 24, 2022

Thomas Elmore was pronounced dead at the scene after his motorcycle was struck by a 28-year-old woman in a Louisville collision that sent the off-duty Shelbyville police officer 93 feet through the air.

By Mike Stunson

Source The Charlotte Observer

A woman has been arrested after she left the scene of a crash that killed an off-duty police officer riding a motorcycle, Kentucky police say.

Ashley Catlett, 28, faces charges of leaving the scene of an accident, failure to render aid and driving without a license or insurance following the crash that killed Thomas Elmore, an officer with the Shelbyville Police Department, records show.

Elmore was a retired officer with the Louisville Metro Police Department and formerly worked with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, police said. He was sworn in with the Shelbyville Police Department in December.

The crash happened Tuesday, Aug. 23, in Louisville, according to an arrest citation. Catlett was making a left turn when she struck Elmore’s motorcycle head-on, according to police.

Elmore was thrown 93 feet and was pronounced dead at the scene, the arrest citation states.

After the crash, Catlett fled on foot to a friend’s home nearby, police said. She asked her friend for help, and the friend proceeded to call the police, court records show.

Officers later took Catlett, whose identification was found in the vehicle that caused the crash, into custody, police said. She is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday morning.

Jail records show Catlett was booked into the Louisville jail around 10:40 p.m. Tuesday.

Sgt. Kelly Cable told WLKY he “could tell something wasn’t right” when he came to the police headquarters Tuesday morning.

“To leave (the scene of the crash), that’s a terrible thing and for that person — it’s got to be playing on their conscience,” Cable told the station. “I would think, I would hope.”

Elmore was a father to three children, WLKY reported. He was remembered by Cable as “a really good officer.”

“He was a people person. He knew how to talk to people,” Cable told WHAS. “He knew how to get along with people, how to de-escalate situations, but he also had lots of information regarding law enforcement and so he was a good role model for a lot of our newer officers.”

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