‘Such a good man’: Citronelle community left reeling after officer killed in crash

UPDATE (10 p.m.): Community members in Citronelle are heartbroken after one of their own police officers died in a crash on Thursday. Around 3:30 p.m., 26-year-old Dylan Chase Owen was driving southbound on North Mobile Street just across Memorial Baptist Church. "I walked out on my front porch, and I heard the motor, and whenever I looked up, it was a cop," Olivia Ridderbjelke said. Sources tell News 5 that Owen was on duty and driving his patrol SUV when he exited the road and slammed into a tree. "And right at that split second whenever I seen him, he hit that tree. And as soon as he hit that tree, I took off running. And I called 911," Ridderbjelke said. The operator told Ridderbjelke to try to get to the patrol car to see if Owen was still breathing. What she didn't know at the time was that she knew him personally. "It didn't look good. And I was hollering his name and trying to get him to wake up," Ridderbjelke said. "It was so mangled, the front of it was just so smashed in, like, mainly on the driver's side." Ridderbjelke says shortly after, an officer got to the scene. "He showed up, and he tried to get him to respond, and it wasn't happening," she said. Owen died immediately. Sources say that he was fairly new to the city's police department and finished his academy training in 2024. News 5 spoke with those who knew Owen personally and described him as an all-around good person. "He was very friendly. He just interacts with people, just joking and picking and playing. This is a small community, and everybody knows each other," Joseph Henderson said. "I just can't believe this because he's such a good man," Ridderbjelke said. UPDATE (8:15 p.m.): An officer killed in a crash in Citronelle has been identified.  Dylan Chase Owen, 26, died in a crash on Thursday, May 14. PREVIOUS REPORTING: CITRONELLE, Ala. (WKRG) — A Citronelle Police Department officer has died after a crash, according to sources. Sources say the officer's vehicle left the road and hit a tree Thursday afternoon. The crash happened on Mobile Street North near Laird Drive. News 5 has crews headed that way. This story is developing. News 5 will update this article as more information becomes available.