TEXAS CITY — An off-duty Galveston police sergeant was killed and his new bride was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in Texas City on Saturday afternoon.

The couple had just gotten married Friday night.

Police said the accident occurred at a particularly dangerous intersection of state Highway 146 and Avenue T about 2:30 p.m.

Sgt. Jeff Harold Wyers, 48, and his wife, Galveston County sheriff’s deputy Crystal Robinson Wyers, were southbound on state Highway 146 in north Texas City when a vehicle pulled out from a convenience store, said Texas City Police Chief Robert Burby.

Wyers was taken by air ambulance to the University of Texas Medical Branch’s John Sealy Hospital in Galveston, where he was pronounced dead, a Galveston police spokesman confirmed.

GPD

Jeff and Crystal Wyers

His wife was also taken to the medical branch with severe injuries and fractures. She was reported in serious condition, Burby said.

It’s not clear whether the two were wearing helmets.

Wyers, a 20-year veteran of the Galveston Police Department, had e-mailed in notice of his intention to retire less than two hours before the accident, interim Police Chief Phillip Morris said.

“I was at his wedding last night, sitting next to him and talking about his future plans,” Morris said.

The wedding was at Jack Brooks Park and themed around the couple’s love of motorcycles.

“The bride came in on a motorcycle her father drove,” Morris said. “That was his lifestyle.”

Wyers and his wife had a contract on a house in Kansas and planned to move in July and apply at the sheriff’s office there.

“They were going to start their new lives,” Morris said. “He was really happy with where he was at in his life.”

Morris said Wyers, who along with him was part of the largest cadet class in the police department’s history, was a “stabilizing force” for younger patrol officers.

He spent his career as a patrol officer and then patrol supervisor on the evening shift, Morris said. He was also the head of security for the Galveston County Fair and Rodeo.

“Jeff was definitely an asset to this department,” he said. “We’re extremely saddened by this. It’s a tough blow to the department and the city.”

The driver of the vehicle that crossed into the Wyers’ path has not been cited, but an investigation will determine whether charges will be filed, Burby said.

Fatal accidents have become frequent on that section of Highway 146, which connects Texas City to the Bacliff and San Leon communities, Burby said.

The convenience store from where the car pulled out sits on a small access road that runs parallel to the highway.

There have been more than 10 fatal accidents in that section of the highway, which also features a deep curve, in the past seven years.

Sgt. Wyers is survived by his three daughters Brandie, Megan and Ashley, and three brothers.