Police Ride Along Ends Tragically

Amanda Kelley's dream was to become a police officer, so whenever she got a chance to ride along with one she jumped at it. The 20-year-old police dispatcher was riding with a Rogers County Sheriff's

Monday, July 9th 2007, 5:00 pm

By: News On 6

Amanda Kelley's dream was to become a police officer, so whenever she got a chance to ride along with one she jumped at it. The 20-year-old police dispatcher was riding with a Rogers County Sheriff's deputy Friday night, answering a call of a drunk driver, when the deputy's car collided with another vehicle. News On 6 anchor Lori Fullbright reports Amanda and the driver of the other vehicle were both killed.

Amanda Kelley's friends called her A.K. Her father called her AK-47 because she had a big gun pitching arm. She was an All-State pitcher her senior year at Claremore High in 2005. She became a dispatcher for the Claremore Police Department about a year ago, and that's where she caught the bug of wanting to be a police officer.

"She loved what she was doing. She decided she wanted to be a dispatcher and wanted to help people, and she said this is a way I could do that, be an officer," Amandaâ€™s mother Amy Kelley said.

Amanda had bought her own home and was living with several friends, they say she was the self-appointed mother of the group. They all talked to us about her love for animals, especially her white German Shepard Duke that she'd raised from a puppy. Her family will never again be complete without her practical jokes and big laugh.

"It's like having a big puzzle and it's completed and somehow one piece is missing, and nothing you can do will bring it back," said Mark Kelley, Amanda's father.

Amandaâ€™s parents plan to put her favorite items into her casket, her favorite pair of earrings, her favorite lip gloss, her Bible and a gift from a friend serving in Iraq. She'll be buried just a few miles from home, and now her family and friends are trying to adjust to the idea of living without her.

Amanda's funeral is Wednesday. The other woman who was killed, Doris McQueen, was a wife and mother of two young girls. Her funeral is Tuesday.

The sheriff's deputy is in the hospital, recovering from his injuries. The investigation into what happened is ongoing.

Watch the video: Woman Killed During Police Ride Along