Retired Polk County sergeant killed by drunk driver in Bartow

ORLANDO, Fla. - A retired Polk County Sheriff’s Office sergeant was struck and killed Monday night by an alleged drunk driver while attempting to remove debris from the road, authorities said.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested 50-year-old Aaron Wells of Winter Haven on charges of DUI manslaughter and negligent child abuse.

Retired sergeant killed by drunk driver

What we know:

Deputies say Wells was driving a 2008 Jaguar S-Type westbound on Van Fleet Drive around 7:40 p.m. when he struck 69-year-old Dan Cooley of Bartow, who had pulled over and activated his hazard lights to retrieve a large tote that had fallen from his vehicle.

First responders performed life-saving measures and transported Cooley to Bartow Regional Medical Center, where he was resuscitated multiple times but ultimately succumbed to his injuries.

Deputies on the scene reported detecting the smell of alcohol on Wells, along with slurred speech and watery eyes. Field sobriety tests indicated impairment, and Wells was taken into custody.

At the Sheriff’s Processing Center, he attempted to manipulate a breathalyzer test but still registered blood alcohol levels above Florida’s legal limit of .08.

He later admitted to drinking several beers before driving with an 11-year-old girl in the vehicle. She was unharmed.

Wells was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with DUI manslaughter, a second-degree felony, and negligent child abuse, a third-degree felony.

"No regard for human life"

What they're saying:

"Sergeant Dan Cooley was a public servant for over 20 years and had been enjoying retirement for nearly as long when he was tragically and senselessly struck and killed by an impaired motorist," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. "The driver clearly has no regard for human life – not only choosing to get behind the wheel drunk but doing so with a child in the car. Our prayers are with Dan Cooley’s family and loved ones."

Cooley joined the Polk County Sheriff’s Office as a detention deputy in March 1986. He was promoted to sergeant in 2002 and retired in 2007.

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