The family of a 22-year-old construction worker is searching for answers after he was struck and killed by a police vehicle at a highway work zone in Mesquite. Edwin Valdez died after the crash on June 23 while working at a construction site along Interstate 635. His partner, Jazmin Torres, sa id the couple had been planning for the future and preparing to welcome their child. “Ever since he found out, he would always tell me my baby’s going to get the childhood I never did. I’m always going to be there for him, and yeah, he was there with me every appointment.” Mesquite police said the crash happened around 11:40 p.m. when Valdez was guiding a crane across the highway. According to police, an off-duty police vehicle that was working traffic control for the construction company struck Valdez while the officer was moving to set up for the next road closure. Valdez died shortly afterward. Torres said the loss has changed the course of their family’s future. “It definitely sucks knowing my baby now has to grow up without a dad. And it’s not because his dad didn’t want to, but because it was taken away from him.” She said the family’s plans ended the moment of the crash. “All of those dreams were like crushed in that instant.” Mesquite police said the investigation remains ongoing and that investigators do not anticipate criminal charges. Torres said she wants accountability and is asking questions about the circumstances surrounding the crash, including the vehicle’s speed, whether its emergency lights were activated, and whether the collision could have been prevented. “His job was to protect Edwin from incidents like this, so he could avoid things like this. And instead of protecting him, he failed him.” Police have not publicly released additional details about the investigation. ...read more read less