CAR ACCIDENT: Deputy Killed in Pursuit of Negligent Driver
February 28, 2010
San Diego – A Santee sheriff’s deputy sustained fatal injuries after his SUV went off road and plunged hundreds of feet into an embankment while pursuing an intoxicated wrong-way driver early Sunday morning, reports said.
Deputy Ken Collier, 39, was in the car with a sheriff’s dispatcher Ryan Debellis at around 3 am when he made a U-turn after noticing a driver who was negligently driving along state Route 52. Collier tried to overtake the driver but instead hit a concrete abutment and went down an embankment. He was ejected from the marked Ford Explorer as it rolled over several times.
Debellis and Collier were out of the vehicle when it caught fire. The deputy was able to radio in the accident and they were later airlifted to a hospital where Collier died as Debellis received treatment and is expected to recover.
The negligent driver, identified as 22-year-old Jose Jasso Lopez, was stopped by authorities for wrong-way driving several miles from the accident. He will face numerous charges which may include vehicular manslaughter.