Retired San Antonio police Detective Roger Miller, 68, was killed in a head-on crash east of Floresville about 9 a m. Wednesday.
Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Anthony Flores said Miller's Honda SUV was hit head on by pickup that veered into his lane on State Highway 97 after being rear-ended by a semi pulling a flatbed trailer.
Flores said 67-year-old Robert Lazcano, of Sutherland Springs, had put his brakes on when he saw a dog in the road. Flores said the dog wound up being killed by the semi.
Lazcano was airlifted to University Hospital in undetermined condition.
Miller was returning from a meeting of the Floresville Electric Light and Power System. He had recently volunteered to serve on its board of directors.
After retiring from SAPD in 1995 after nearly 28 years, Miller eventually joined the LaVernia Police Department, according to Bruce Ritchey, its current police chief who also served with SAPD.
He said Miller became a police sergeant, "Back when there were only two officers, him and the chief."
"(He was) always a good officer, always willing to help," said Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt.
Miller also was elected to the LaVernia City Council in 2007, a post he held for three years.
The sheriff said Miller was a dedicated public servant with a special place in his heart for the town of LaVernia.
Tackitt said, "He wouldn't have stayed there after working there, being on city council. He loved that area."