TX Firefighter Found Dead Following Jeep Accident

The body of a 20-year old Crosby firefighter who went missing after a car crash was found Tuesday morning near the Galveston causeway bridge, police said.

Tim Miller, the founder of Texas Equusearch, said a fisherman pulled the body of Kent Zavala near where he was thrown from a Jeep Sunday night.

Zavala had been missing ever since he was ejected through the soft top of a Jeep in a three-vehicle crash. The Coast Guard said the Jeep had three men and a dog inside when it crashed into a guardrail on the outbound lane of the causeway near the Tiki Island exit.

Two of the men were taken to UTMB with critical injuries. The Coast Guard said a dog and Zavala were ejected through the soft top of the Jeep and into the water. The dog was later rescued.

The Coast Guard suspended its search for Zavala on Monday. Texas Equusearch continued looking for Zavala, and eventually located his body in the water using sonar equipment.

The Crosby Volunteer Fire Department posted on Facebook that Zavala was a “friendly and respectful young man” who joined the department as a recruit in May 2019.

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