Suspect in Johnson County deputy’s death had twice the legal alcohol limit, documents reveal

The man charged with causing a traffic crash that killed a Johnson County sheriff’s deputy allegedly had twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system, according to newly released court documents.

Adrian Espinosa-Flores told police that he had been drinking beer at a friend’s house before the crash and also said that he was in the country illegally.

Master Deputy Brandon Collins was killed on Sept. 11 while conducting a traffic stop on U.S. 69 just north of 151st Street in Overland Park.

Espinosa-Flores is now charged in Johnson County District Court with involuntary manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatality traffic crash.

According to police, a pickup truck driven by Espinosa-Flores ran into the back of Collins’ parked patrol vehicle. The force of the crash pushed the patrol car into the SUV that Collins had pulled over.

Espinosa-Flores ran from the scene, but was found nearby and taken into custody.

According to the newly released affidavit filed to support the charges, the first Overland Park police officer on the scene reported that the truck and patrol vehicle were on fire with flames shooting 30 feet in the air.

The driver of the pickup truck was gone. Police set up a perimeter and began a search using dogs and a helicopter from the Kansas Highway Patrol.

A person who lived nearby told officers that he spotted a man in his backyard. The man ran away when approached by the homeowner.

A short time later, officers spotted Espinosa-Flores near 139th Street and U.S. 69 and reported that he appeared to be intoxicated.

Officers conducted field sobriety tests and a preliminary breath test showed that Espinosa-Flores’ blood-alcohol content was .160, according to the documents.

Espinosa-Flores later agreed to talk to police and told them he was on his way home to Kansas City, Kan., from a friend’s home in Belton when the crash occurred. He told police that he had consumed four beers.

He told officers that after the crash he got out his truck because he felt like he was on fire. He said he ran away without checking on anyone else.

He also said he had entered the United States illegally.

After his arrest, U.S. immigration officials filed a request to have Espinosa-Flores held for an immigration violation after the criminal case in Johnson County is concluded.

Espinosa-Flores has a 2001 DUI conviction in California and was arrested in Overland Park in 2013 for driving without a license, according to records from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

However, immigration officials said they had no records indicating they had been notified after either arrest.

Espinosa-Flores is now being held in the Johnson County Jail. His bond is set at $2 million and his next scheduled court hearing is Thursday.

This story was originally published September 20, 2016 at 10:28 AM with the headline "Suspect in Johnson County deputy’s death had twice the legal alcohol limit, documents reveal."