LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A witness to a fatal crash on Fern Valley Road Wednesday night said the Louisville Metro Police officer involved was driving extremely fast and with no lights or sirens.
The department identified that officer Friday as Alyssa Begel. According to her personnel files, provided by LMPD, she was disciplined just last year in a different crash.
Officers rushing to help EMS on Interstate 65 around 9 p.m. Wednesday were told by dispatchers they could slow down their response as police were already on scene.
Three minutes later, on Fern Valley Road near Newburg, Begel’s cruiser collided with a black Cadillac driven by Charles Briscoe, 61, who died at the scene.
“I just kept my eyes locked in on the officer, wondering where they were going,” said Brandon Branson. “I watched them swerve to go around one driver and, as soon as they disappeared around that driver, I just seen impact smoke.”
Branson said the crash happened right in front of him as he headed down Fern Valley Road after leaving work.
“The officer came flying past me,” he said.
It is unclear whether Begel, who was responding to assist EMS on I-65, got the word from dispatchers to slow down before the crash happened. But Branson said it was the initial statement from LMPD about the crash — in which a spokesperson said Briscoe was headed west on Fern Valley and turned in front of the officer who hit him — that led him to come forward Friday about what he saw.
“I seen it said the officer was on the way to an emergency call and I just noticed that the officer never had on any emergency lights,” he said. “When I said a high rate of speed, I mean a very high rate of speed. I checked my speed at 50 when they passed me and they passed me like I was sitting still.”
LMPD is treating the crash as a critical incident, following the same protocol used when someone dies in a police shooting. That means body or dash cam footage will be made public in 10 business days. It also means the department will not answer any questions in the immediate days following an incident. A spokesperson referred to that policy, and did not answer when WDRB asked whether Beger was driving without sirens and lights as Branson described.
According to Begel’s personnel file released by the city late Friday afternoon, she was hired in October 2022, has 22 commendations and three reprimands for discipline.
One particular incident in the documents show Begel was “at fault” in a car accident a year after her hiring, in October 2023, and disciplined for it in April of 2024 in the form of a verbal reprimand.
“I know if that was anybody else, we’d probably be sitting in jail for vehicular homicide right now, with the way that went down,” Branson said. “The officer never hit the brake lights, and never turned on emergency lights or anything. It was straight acceleration the whole time.”
LMPD said Begel was released from the hospital Friday.
