Suspected Drunk Driver Kills Off-Duty Cottonwood Police Officer

Jason Howard Engel [Photo courtesy Cottonwood Police Department]

A Camp Verde man, Jason Howard Engel, is in custody in connection with the death of Cottonwood Police Officer Jody Michael Makuch.

According to Cottonwood Police, on September 7, 2020, at 2:39 p.m., Officer Makuch was travelling in the northbound traffic lanes of SR-89A and the 41-year-old Engel was driving a sport utility vehicle (SUV) southbound on State Route 89A at Willard Street, within the City of Cottonwood.

Engel drove the SUV left of center and struck Officer Makuch, age 49.

Officer Makuch, was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

Officer Makuch was a Cottonwood Police Department commander and was off duty at the time of the collision.

Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers booked Engel into the Yavapai County Jail on the charge of Manslaughter. Additional felony and misdemeanor charges, including Criminal Damage and Endangerment, are pending.

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