Columbus Dispatch, The (OH) - April 19, 2007
Deceased Name: Auxiliary Deputy Brian R. Porter: Deputy killed in collision with pickup
Another tragedy has struck a law-enforcement community along the Ohio River.

Gallia County Auxiliary Deputy Brian R. Porter, 38, died Tuesday afternoon when his car collided head-on with a pickup truck on Rt. 160 just southeast of Bidwell. Two people in the truck were hurt, the State Highway Patrol said.

On Sept. 28, two troopers in a cruiser and a woman driving a pickup truck died in a crash on Jackson Pike near Gallipolis.

Investigators determined that the cruiser hydroplaned on standing water, crossed the center line backward and smashed into the truck. The cruiser's gas tank exploded, killing all three at the scene.

Troopers investigating Tuesday's crash think the pickup, being driven north by Jimmy G. Laws, 48, of Bidwell, crossed the center line when the truck's left-front tire blew out.

The vehicle struck Porter's car as he headed south about 1:30 p.m., troopers said. Laws and a 5-year-old child in the truck were hospitalized. A woman passenger in the truck was uninjured.

"Brian was a great guy," said Gallia County Sheriff's Capt. John Perry. "He loved the occupation of law enforcement ... He had been in law enforcement for a number of years."

Porter, who lived in Gallipolis, was divorced and had two children, Perry said. The deputy joined the sheriff's office about two years ago and normally worked a special-duty security assignment at night at a local industrial park.

He was off duty and driving to his regular job as a guard at the Children's Center of Ohio, a juvenile-detention center in Patriot, when the accident occurred, Perry said.

Before joining the Gallia department, Porter worked in neighboring Meigs County, said Meigs County Sheriff Robert Beegle. The sheriff took office in January 2005, a month after Porter left his job as a drug-enforcement officer with the department.

Both Beegle and Perry said Porter's death is sad for an area already hit hard by last fall's deadly crash.

An honor guard will participate in Porter's funeral, which likely will be next week, Perry said.

The Willis Funeral Home in Gallipolis is handling arrangements.