Border Patrol Agent Killed By Wrong-Way Driver

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/14070091/detail.html

SAN DIEGO -- Two people were killed Friday morning when a woman driving the wrong way on the freeway slammed into a pickup truck driven by a border patrol agent, officials said.

Border Patrol Agent Neil Hepburn, 35, of Tierrasanta, was killed while on his way home from work on state Route 52 in Santee, according to the California Highway Patrol. The CHP said the wrong-way driver, identified as Shayne Leatherwood, 22, was traveling in a Toyota Prius at speeds of 100 mph.

Officer Tom Stromer with the CHP said, "Approximately five minutes after we got our initial reports we tried to get into position to stop the vehicle." But it was too late, as the cars "proceeded to collide head on," Stromer said.Investigators are still trying to determine how she ended up on the freeway going the wrong direction and whether alcohol was involved. Border Patrol agents say Hepburn was just minutes from being home.Hepburn was on his way home from his shift at the Campo station, but had worked at the Imperial Beach station for most of his career with the horse patrol, his coworkers told NBC 7/39. He leaves behind a wife and two young children.

A co-worker, who did not want to be identified, told NBC 7/39, "His family was very important to him. He wanted to work and spend a lot of time with his family. He wanted to change his days off -- whatever benefitted his family -- to be with them the most. His boy, he was teaching him how to ride a horse. Also, his daughter, he was very involved with. It's just devastating to know they'll be without his father now."By noon Friday, word of his death had already spread across the Tierrasanta elementary school that his son attends.Hepburn's brother, who lives in Texas, told NBC 7/39 Neil was the first person in their family to become a U.S. citizen.

Hepburn was from Scotland originally and he became a citizen in order to pursue a career in law enforcement.Richard Smith with the Border Patrol told NBC 7/39, "That's the biggest part of this tragedy. He spent 10 hours defending our borders and doing a job he loved, and on the way home to his family -- it's such a tragedy -- it was a needless accident."