Former South Bend Police Darryl Boykins was involved in a fatal car crash on Sunday.
According to a release from the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office, Boykins was turning left onto Western Avenue from Mayflower Road around 5:15 p.m. when his Chrysler collided with a motorcycle travelling north on Mayflower.
The driver of the motorcycle, 38-year-old Thomas Stitt, was not wearing a helmet and suffered severe injuries. He was transported to the hospital but died despite surgery. An autopsy is pending.
Boykins was not injured, and the release said there are no indications of alcohol or drugs in blood samples from either driver, but confirmatory testing is pending. The county’s Fatal Crash Team is investigating.
Boykins, South Bend’s first Black police chief, was asked to resign in 2012 by former Mayor Pete Buttigieg over the police tapes case.
Buttigieg faced criticism over that decision. The tapes have yet to be released to the public — the Common Council subpoenaed them in 2012, but a lawsuit is still ongoing.
Contact Jakob at jlazzaro@wvpe.org or follow him on Twitter at @JakobLazzaro.
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