*IN THE LINE OF DUTY* OFFICER DOWN

[Lady Cop]

RIP Deputy Matt Miller



Seminole County Deputy Matt Miller (Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office / December 26, 2011

Orlando Sentinel
December 27, 2011
Florida Highway Patrol troopers continue to investigate a crash that killed a Seminole County deputy sheriff and put another man in the hospital in critical condition.

Deputy Matt Miller was killed when his motorcycle collided with a Volkswagen Jetta at the intersection of Maitland Boulevard and Gateway Drive on Monday afternoon, causing the car to flip on its roof.

Miller, 53, had worked at the Sheriff's Office for 24 years, a somber Seminole County Sheriff Don Eslinger said at a news conference Monday evening outside the emergency room of Orlando Regional Medical Center, where Miller was taken after the accident.

Eslinger said the motorcycle deputy was "trying to catch up to a speeder" headed west on Maitland Boulevard about 1:15 p.m. when the crash occurred. Eslinger said Miller had activated his lights and siren but was not in a high-speed pursuit.
The Jetta's driver, identified as Abel Romero Linfernal, 28, of Altamonte Springs, also was taken to ORMC, where he was listed in critical condition Monday night, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Troopers investigating the crash said Linfernal was headed east when he turned left at Gateway Drive and into the motorcycle's path.

"Matt was a consummate professional. Very highly skilled. Loved working traffic, loved working at the Sheriff's Office," said Eslinger, who escorted the deputy's widow, Laura Miller, from the hospital before addressing reporters. "He touched a lot of lives in the Sheriff's Office as well as the entire community. ... It's all one family at the Seminole County Sheriff's Office. It's not only a loss of a great deputy sheriff, but a family member for all of us."

Miller worked at the Longwood Police Department for three years before joining the Sheriff's Office.