HOUSTON -- A Houston police officer was killed and another severely injured Sunday morning after an accident with an intoxicated driver.

Three officers were working traffic control at a West Houston construction site on the Katy Freeway eastbound feeder and Highway 6 around 5:15 a.m. when the incident occurred.

Police said the driver, an Asian male in his early 20s, crashed through construction barricades and plowed into the officers.

Officer Milton Sallie was able to jump out of the way and was unharmed.  The other two, Officers Gary Gryder and Joe Pyland, were rushed to Memorial Hermann, where Officer Gryder died.

HPD Union photos

Officer Gary Gryder and Officer Joe Pyland

“This is a very tragic day for the Houston Police Department. We have lost one of our own. Our prayers go out of course to the families, and we ask for the community to pray for them,” Capt. Bruce Williams said.

Pyland suffered a broken leg, among other injuries. He is expected to survive.

“When he hit the ground, the people who came over to assist him, he said, ‘Don’t worry about me. Get Gary.’ He knew Gary had taken the brunt of the hit,” HPD’s Gary Blankenship said.

The driver was arrested at the scene and faces possible intoxication manslaughter charges.

Police said his demeanor at the scene led them to believe he was intoxicated. They said at one point, he was laughing at the officers.

“There did not appear to be any braking on the part of the driver,” Williams said.

His car didn’t come to a stop until he crashed into a concrete freeway wall.

“It was the drinking and the drug abuse that put this guy in this situation, and I would like to believe had he been sober, he would have heeded all the warnings and we wouldn’t have lost an officer today,” Williams said.

The officers were having coffee and conversing with each other when the driver hit them.  Williams said they did not see it coming.

All three of the officers involved have been with the force for 20 or more years.

According to the Houston Police Officer’s Union Web site, Officer Gryder was a graduate of Jersey Village High School.  He was married with one son, and enjoyed golf, fishing and hunting.

Officer Pyland grew up in south Florida. He is a former NCAA collegiate baseball umpire, and enjoys tennis and rugby.

He is married and currently runs the HPD Blue Santa program.

Both officers serve on the union board of directors.

Statistics show that for law enforcement officers, being hit by a car is among the leading causes of work-related deaths.

Houston Mayor Bill White met with the families of both officers Sunday.

“Officers work hard to protect us every day. Fellow officers have expressed great respect for these two policemen, who were selected to represent them on the police union board. We offer our condolences and support to the families of these officers,” White said in a statement.