Texas police officers, many of them also motorcycle enthusiasts, came from hundreds of miles around to pay their respects to Sgt. Jeff Wyers on June 18. Wyers’ funeral procession stretched nearly seven miles down Interstate Highway 45. (Photo Courtesy of Houston Event Photography)
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Osawatomie dream ends in Texas tragedy
Husband Killed In Motorcycle Accident One Day After Vows Were Exchanged
By Dustin Kass, dustinkass@miconews.com
The driver never looked back to his left again.
That’s one of the details that’s burned into Bob Ober’s memory about June 14.
The truck driver, stopped at a stop sign, looked left once down Texas Highway 146 in the direction of the two motorcycles headed his way, then to the right at traffic coming from that direction. When the vehicles from the right passed by, however, he never looked left again.
Instead, he just pulled his truck onto the highway, sending Ober’s daughter and her newlywed husband flying to the asphalt and, on a humid Texas afternoon, ending a marriage not yet 18 hours old.
Crystal Robinson was the child every parent wants to have, Bob and his wife, Leslie, said. She was a cheerleader and social butterfly at Louisburg High School with grades strong enough that Ivy League schools pursued her as she neared graduation in 1992.
That makeup made it even more surprising when Crystal announced she was going to follow in her dad’s footsteps and go into law enforcement in Texas.
“I was like, ‘What? Weren’t you paying attention growing up?’” said Bob, a sergeant with the Osawatomie Police Department who previously worked as an officer for nine years with the Louisburg Police Department and eight years with the Spring Hill Police Department.
Yet, as Leslie tells it, it was tough to tell who was filled with more pride — Crystal or Bob — when Crystal finished her training and, at graduation, was presented with a medal as the top marksman in her class of nearly 60.
“He was just so proud,” Leslie said.
Two years ago, Crystal met Sgt. Jeff Wyers, a big bear of a man 14 years her senior who was a 20-year veteran of the Galveston (Texas) Police Department, while she was working as a deputy sheriff at the Galveston County Jail.
The pair already shared a love of law enforcement, and Crystal soon started sharing Jeff’s passion for motorcycles. Jeff was a member of a local chapter of the Blue Knights, an organization of former and active law enforcement officers who are also motorcycle enthusiasts.
Bob, a 24-year police veteran, and Leslie, who retired from Miami County Emergency Medical Services, both knew well the dangers of motorcycle riding. Throughout his career, Bob can only recall two motorcycle wrecks where the rider was able to get up and walk away afterward. But the pair also know well the joys of riding, as Bob has owned a number of bikes through the years, including a 2008 Harley-Davidson motorcycle sold only to police officers.
It seemed Crystal was following in her father’s footsteps again.
Crystal and Jeff’s love for bikes combined with their love for each other June 13 during their motorcycle wedding
The Obers loaded up Bob’s bike and drove down to Texas for the ceremony. With gleaming motorcycles parked in rows serving as the sides, Bob drove Crystal down the aisle, circling around an oak tree at the end and dropping his daughter off next to Jeff.
“She wanted Dad to take her down the aisle,” Leslie said. “So we brought the bike so he could drive his baby girl down the aisle.”
The newly married couple’s plans included a return to Miami County, Leslie said. Crystal and Jeff were in the process of buying a house near Osawatomie with a July 14 closing date. Crystal worked her last shift at the jail two days early, and Jeff sent an e-mail to his supervisors the day after his wedding announcing his retirement.
Crystal was coming home with her new husband to start their life together.
The motorcycles roared as the two couples drove Highway 146 to Galveston at 2:30 p.m. June 14. Jeff and Crystal rode on the left-hand side of the lane, their bike 30 or 40 feet ahead of Bob and Leslie, who were cruising along in the right-hand side. The men saw the pickup, sitting at the stop sign ahead, inching out slightly, and both eased off the throttle, Bob said.
The driver of the pickup looked in their direction, then away. The two couples barely had time to react when the driver didn’t look back and the truck shot out into their lane.
Jeff’s bike slammed into the pickup, sending its two helmet-less riders flying. With the advantage of additional distance to react, Bob slammed on the brakes, swerved and narrowly whipped around the rear of the motorcycle.
“There was maybe this much room,” Bob said, indicating a distance of less than six inches. “I really thought my knee would catch. It was just God’s hand and pure dumb luck.”
Crystal and Jeff were both rushed to area hospitals. Crystal’s massive injuries included a spine fracture, punctured lung, broken ribs and a compound fracture in her leg. She would spend seven days in intensive care and 27 days in the hospital, undergoing six surgeries before being released Friday.
Her husband was injured more severely. Jeff was pronounced dead at an area hospital less than 18 hours after the couple exchanged vows.
“That was two of the hardest things in my life,” Bob said. “To see it happen, and then to tell her that her husband of less than 18 hours had died. There’s no words to describe it.”
Hundreds of police officers from agencies for more than 100 miles in all directions turned out for Jeff’s funeral June 18. Authorities shut down all four lanes of Interstate 45 from Dickinson to Galveston, a distance of over 20 miles, for the funeral procession that stretched nearly seven miles. Bob, dressed in his Osawatomie Police Department uniform, carried Jeff’s casket as one of the pallbearers.
“I’ve never seen such respect in my 24 years,” Bob said.
Crystal did not witness the tribute, however. She was still in intensive care, battling her injuries. When she did emerge from ICU, she was quick to let her parents know she would ride again.
“She said, ‘Dad, you know I’m going to buy a motorcycle and ride,’” Bob said. “That was their life together.”
It was a life that ended far too soon, but Bob knows that if his life did have to end, though, Jeff wouldn’t have wanted to go any other way.
“I know there were three things in this life that Jeff loved: loving my daughter, riding a motorcycle and being a cop,” Bob said. “He was all three at the time.
“It really don’t get better than that.”
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That’s one of the details that’s burned into Bob Ober’s memory about June 14.
The truck driver, stopped at a stop sign, looked left once down Texas Highway 146 in the direction of the two motorcycles headed his way, then to the right at traffic coming from that direction. When the vehicles from the right passed by, however, he never looked left again.
Instead, he just pulled his truck onto the highway, sending Ober’s daughter and her newlywed husband flying to the asphalt and, on a humid Texas afternoon, ending a marriage not yet 18 hours old.
Crystal Robinson was the child every parent wants to have, Bob and his wife, Leslie, said. She was a cheerleader and social butterfly at Louisburg High School with grades strong enough that Ivy League schools pursued her as she neared graduation in 1992.
That makeup made it even more surprising when Crystal announced she was going to follow in her dad’s footsteps and go into law enforcement in Texas.
“I was like, ‘What? Weren’t you paying attention growing up?’” said Bob, a sergeant with the Osawatomie Police Department who previously worked as an officer for nine years with the Louisburg Police Department and eight years with the Spring Hill Police Department.
Yet, as Leslie tells it, it was tough to tell who was filled with more pride — Crystal or Bob — when Crystal finished her training and, at graduation, was presented with a medal as the top marksman in her class of nearly 60.
“He was just so proud,” Leslie said.
Two years ago, Crystal met Sgt. Jeff Wyers, a big bear of a man 14 years her senior who was a 20-year veteran of the Galveston (Texas) Police Department, while she was working as a deputy sheriff at the Galveston County Jail.
The pair already shared a love of law enforcement, and Crystal soon started sharing Jeff’s passion for motorcycles. Jeff was a member of a local chapter of the Blue Knights, an organization of former and active law enforcement officers who are also motorcycle enthusiasts.
Bob, a 24-year police veteran, and Leslie, who retired from Miami County Emergency Medical Services, both knew well the dangers of motorcycle riding. Throughout his career, Bob can only recall two motorcycle wrecks where the rider was able to get up and walk away afterward. But the pair also know well the joys of riding, as Bob has owned a number of bikes through the years, including a 2008 Harley-Davidson motorcycle sold only to police officers.
It seemed Crystal was following in her father’s footsteps again.
Crystal and Jeff’s love for bikes combined with their love for each other June 13 during their motorcycle wedding
The Obers loaded up Bob’s bike and drove down to Texas for the ceremony. With gleaming motorcycles parked in rows serving as the sides, Bob drove Crystal down the aisle, circling around an oak tree at the end and dropping his daughter off next to Jeff.
“She wanted Dad to take her down the aisle,” Leslie said. “So we brought the bike so he could drive his baby girl down the aisle.”
The newly married couple’s plans included a return to Miami County, Leslie said. Crystal and Jeff were in the process of buying a house near Osawatomie with a July 14 closing date. Crystal worked her last shift at the jail two days early, and Jeff sent an e-mail to his supervisors the day after his wedding announcing his retirement.
Crystal was coming home with her new husband to start their life together.
The motorcycles roared as the two couples drove Highway 146 to Galveston at 2:30 p.m. June 14. Jeff and Crystal rode on the left-hand side of the lane, their bike 30 or 40 feet ahead of Bob and Leslie, who were cruising along in the right-hand side. The men saw the pickup, sitting at the stop sign ahead, inching out slightly, and both eased off the throttle, Bob said.
The driver of the pickup looked in their direction, then away. The two couples barely had time to react when the driver didn’t look back and the truck shot out into their lane.
Jeff’s bike slammed into the pickup, sending its two helmet-less riders flying. With the advantage of additional distance to react, Bob slammed on the brakes, swerved and narrowly whipped around the rear of the motorcycle.
“There was maybe this much room,” Bob said, indicating a distance of less than six inches. “I really thought my knee would catch. It was just God’s hand and pure dumb luck.”
Crystal and Jeff were both rushed to area hospitals. Crystal’s massive injuries included a spine fracture, punctured lung, broken ribs and a compound fracture in her leg. She would spend seven days in intensive care and 27 days in the hospital, undergoing six surgeries before being released Friday.
Her husband was injured more severely. Jeff was pronounced dead at an area hospital less than 18 hours after the couple exchanged vows.
“That was two of the hardest things in my life,” Bob said. “To see it happen, and then to tell her that her husband of less than 18 hours had died. There’s no words to describe it.”
Hundreds of police officers from agencies for more than 100 miles in all directions turned out for Jeff’s funeral June 18. Authorities shut down all four lanes of Interstate 45 from Dickinson to Galveston, a distance of over 20 miles, for the funeral procession that stretched nearly seven miles. Bob, dressed in his Osawatomie Police Department uniform, carried Jeff’s casket as one of the pallbearers.
“I’ve never seen such respect in my 24 years,” Bob said.
Crystal did not witness the tribute, however. She was still in intensive care, battling her injuries. When she did emerge from ICU, she was quick to let her parents know she would ride again.
“She said, ‘Dad, you know I’m going to buy a motorcycle and ride,’” Bob said. “That was their life together.”
It was a life that ended far too soon, but Bob knows that if his life did have to end, though, Jeff wouldn’t have wanted to go any other way.
“I know there were three things in this life that Jeff loved: loving my daughter, riding a motorcycle and being a cop,” Bob said. “He was all three at the time.
“It really don’t get better than that.”