Post by coots on Feb 18, 2014 1:55:47 GMT -5
Two California Highway Patrol Officers Killed in Wreck While Responding to Multi-Vehicle Crash
Brian Law, 34, and Juan Gonzalez, 33, were killed near Kingsburg when they swerved to avoid a person in the road and lost control of the vehicle. The officers were the first killed in the line of duty since 1962.
KINGSBURG, Calif. — The California Highway Patrol was mourning the loss of two officers Monday after their squad car flipped over while responding to a multi-vehicle crash.
Officers Brian Law, 34, of Clovis, and Juan Gonzalez, 33, of Fresno, were heading to the crash on state Route 99 near the Central Valley town of Kingsburg when they swerved to avoid a person in the road and lost control of the vehicle, the CHP said.
Law and Gonzalez were traveling southbound to get to the crash, CHP Capt. Dave Paris said.
The original pre-dawn collision about 25 miles southeast of Fresno was initially reported on the northbound side of the divided highway, Paris said. The officers soon realized, however, that the crash scene was actually in the southbound lanes, and one of the drivers involved was on the road, Paris said.
Gonzalez, who was driving, swerved out of the way, and the squad car hit a guardrail and struck the pylon of a freeway exit sign, said Officer Axel Reyes, a CHP spokesman.
The original crash apparently occurred when a pickup truck driver fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into the center divider, the CHP said. It came to rest in the wrong direction with its lights off, setting off a chain-reaction collision.
“Prior to our arrival, it appears another vehicle may have hit the truck” and came to rest a short distance away, CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow told reporters in a briefing at the crash site.
“We’re not sure if the officers ... thought the crash was further down the road,” Farrow said. “(But) as they approached the scene, they lost control of their vehicle. They hit the guardrail and ultimately hit the sign.”
It is standard procedure for the two officers to be in the same car because they were working the graveyard shift, said Reyes, the CHP spokesman. Both Law and Gonzalez were wearing their seat belts, said Paris, the CHP captain.
Law started his career in Oakland before transferring to Fresno about a year ago to be closer to his wife and three kids, said Officer Sean Wilkenfeld, a CHP spokesman who worked with Law in Oakland.
Before transferring to the Fresno area in 2010, Gonzalez worked for CHP in San Jose for two years. He is survived by his mother, a sister and a girlfriend.
The CHP’s accident reconstruction teams remained at the site Monday afternoon to scour for evidence. One southbound lane was open and traffic was moving slowly, the CHP said.
Rest In Peace Officers
Brian Law, 34, and Juan Gonzalez, 33, were killed near Kingsburg when they swerved to avoid a person in the road and lost control of the vehicle. The officers were the first killed in the line of duty since 1962.
KINGSBURG, Calif. — The California Highway Patrol was mourning the loss of two officers Monday after their squad car flipped over while responding to a multi-vehicle crash.
Officers Brian Law, 34, of Clovis, and Juan Gonzalez, 33, of Fresno, were heading to the crash on state Route 99 near the Central Valley town of Kingsburg when they swerved to avoid a person in the road and lost control of the vehicle, the CHP said.
Law and Gonzalez were traveling southbound to get to the crash, CHP Capt. Dave Paris said.
The original pre-dawn collision about 25 miles southeast of Fresno was initially reported on the northbound side of the divided highway, Paris said. The officers soon realized, however, that the crash scene was actually in the southbound lanes, and one of the drivers involved was on the road, Paris said.
Gonzalez, who was driving, swerved out of the way, and the squad car hit a guardrail and struck the pylon of a freeway exit sign, said Officer Axel Reyes, a CHP spokesman.
The original crash apparently occurred when a pickup truck driver fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into the center divider, the CHP said. It came to rest in the wrong direction with its lights off, setting off a chain-reaction collision.
“Prior to our arrival, it appears another vehicle may have hit the truck” and came to rest a short distance away, CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow told reporters in a briefing at the crash site.
“We’re not sure if the officers ... thought the crash was further down the road,” Farrow said. “(But) as they approached the scene, they lost control of their vehicle. They hit the guardrail and ultimately hit the sign.”
It is standard procedure for the two officers to be in the same car because they were working the graveyard shift, said Reyes, the CHP spokesman. Both Law and Gonzalez were wearing their seat belts, said Paris, the CHP captain.
Law started his career in Oakland before transferring to Fresno about a year ago to be closer to his wife and three kids, said Officer Sean Wilkenfeld, a CHP spokesman who worked with Law in Oakland.
Before transferring to the Fresno area in 2010, Gonzalez worked for CHP in San Jose for two years. He is survived by his mother, a sister and a girlfriend.
The CHP’s accident reconstruction teams remained at the site Monday afternoon to scour for evidence. One southbound lane was open and traffic was moving slowly, the CHP said.
Rest In Peace Officers
