HARVEY COUNTY — A Newton Police officer died off duty in an ATV accident Wednesday.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Can-am ATV driven by 30-year-old Levi Minkevitch of Peabody was traveling in the ditch along Dutch Avenue approximately 1/2 mile east of Harvest Hill Road around 4 p.m. when Minkevitch lost control of the vehicle when he attempted to jump the ditch into the adjacent field. The ATV rolled into the creek.
EMS transported Minkevitch to Newton Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. The department said Wednesday, "Levi was a tremendous police officer and a friend to everyone he met. He had a large presence and a smile that lit up a room. This loss is truly devastating."
Sgt. Minkevitch had served on the department since 2013.