Travis County Deputy Killed In Car Crash

TRAVIS COUNTY, TX — A Travis County Sheriff's Office deputy was killed early Wednesday after his vehicle veered off a roadway, officials confirmed.

The incident occurred just before 6:50 a.m. along the 7700 block of FM 2244, officials said in a press advisory. The driver in the fatal accident was identified as Senior Deputy Christopher Korzilius.

In an email, a sheriff's office spokesperson said Korzilius, 32, was assigned to the VICE unit at TCSO and was driving his unmarked unit, a Ford Escape, at the time of the collision. The spokesperson said the deputy joined the sheriff's office in June 2016, and spent most of his time working night shift patrol in eastern Travis County. He was promoted to senior deputy status two years after joining the agency before joining the VICE unit in January 2020, the spokesperson said.

The fallen deputy was among a group of law enforcement officials honored a little over a week ago during the sheriff's office annual awards ceremony, the spokesperson noted. Korzilius and five others were awarded the Commendation Bar after responding to a “shots fired” call in July 2018. Korzilius also received several other awards and commendations, including:

• Employee of the Quarter just seven months after being hired;
• letters of Commendation and Appreciation from supervisors and colleagues;
• and the honor of being named Victim Services Deputy of the Year.

The crash is being investigated by the Texas Department of Public Safety with assistance from the sheriff's office HEAT (Highway Enforcement and Accident Team) unit. Korzilius is the 8th Travis County Sheriff’s Office deputy to be killed in the line of duty in the agency's history. Funeral arrangements are pending.

The Travis County Sheriff's Office did not provide further details.

Austin-Travis County EMS tweets in the collision's aftermath suggest Korzilius had a passenger in his vehicle at the time of the crash. The occupant's age and gender were not revealed for the second crash victim whose injuries were as being of the "potentially serious, non-life-threatening" variety.