USMS_wife
06-22-2005, 11:38
Deputy, firefighter 'too young to die'
On-duty deputy killed in a car crash this weekend was not alone. Automobile accidents are second leading cause of police officer deaths in the past decade
Date published: 6/22/2005
By BILL FREEHLING
Deputy John W. Sanford Jr. had several loves in his life. He died early Sunday morning doing one of them.
Sanford, killed in the line of duty, had worked as a part-time deputy with the Northumberland County Sheriff's Office since 1994, said Sheriff Wayne Middleton.
He worked a couple of shifts a week, usually weekends in the Northern Neck locality, but he didn't do it for the money.
"It was almost like a hobby," Middleton said. "He really enjoyed it."
Sanford, 50, died when his Ford Crown Victoria cruiser collided head-on with another vehicle on U.S. 360 a couple of miles west of Burgess just after midnight.
Northumberland has been mourning the loss of Sanford, a lifelong resident and volunteer firefighter who ran an auto repair shop near his Glebe Point home.
Flags are flying at half-mast, and a flower memorial has been placed near the scorched asphalt where the wreck occurred about 75 miles east of Fredericksburg.
"He never knew a stranger," said wife Eleanor Sanford. "He's gonna be missed by a lot of people."
John and Eleanor met in 11th grade at Northumberland High, she said from a folding chair at the Fairfields Volunteer Fire Department's Glebe Point station.
They lost touch, but reconnected seven years ago when Eleanor dropped off her Mercury Marquis at John's repair shop.
They were married on the banks of the Mattaponi River. Sunday, the day he died, was their sixth wedding anniversary.
"He was too young to die," Eleanor said as people drifted into the fire station to remember her husband.
Eleanor and John lived next door to the station, where the deputy was a volunteer firefighter for 32 years--another of his loves.
"He was our most dedicated fireman and had been forever," said Chief Phillip Keyser.
Sanford was the department's assistant chief and a former chief. Eleanor said he bought the house next door to the Glebe Point station so he could be first on the truck, night or day.
Sanford's colleagues at the fire department were faced with an emotional task Sunday morning--putting out the flames from the accident.
Sanford was heading west toward a fight in progress at the Callao Apartments when the accident occurred on a curvy stretch, Middleton said.
According to Virginia State Police Sgt. Kevin Barrick, an eastbound 1992 Dodge Dynasty crossed into the westbound lane and hit Sanford's car.
Warren Blackwell was in bed at his nearby home when the accident occurred. He heard a loud boom and saw smoke when he looked out the window.
Then he saw the flames flying, near Pumpkin Hill Road, which leads to Camp Kittamaqund. Blackwell thought maybe a fuel truck had crashed. He saw the blue lights of Sanford's vehicle, but those died out as the fire raged.
Another Northumberland deputy who also was driving to the fight pulled Sanford from his car. Barrick said that deputy had narrowly missed the Dodge and had radioed to warn Sanford, who was about a half-mile back.
When he got no response, the deputy turned back to find the two cars in flames. He wasn't able to get the other driver out. Both drivers died at the scene.
Barrick said the first deputy, whose name isn't being released, clocked the Dodge going 78 mph. Middleton said he thinks Sanford was probably going about 70 mph.
Middleton said he's 95 percent sure the driver of the Dodge is an 89-year-old Heathsville man. But he was burned beyond recognition and had no medical records, so it's been difficult to confirm his identity.
Barrick said there's no evidence that alcohol played a role. He said a toxicology study will be done on the Dodge driver's body, but he said it's hard to measure after blood has reached high temperatures.
Middleton said Sanford was one of his most safety-conscious officers, always wearing a bulletproof vest. Barrick said he was wearing his seatbelt during the crash, and his lights and sirens were on.
Like all Virginia law enforcement officers, Sanford had received police academy training on pursuits and defensive driving.
Automobile accidents are the second-most-common cause of death for U.S. police officers killed in the line of duty between 1995 and 2004, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
There have been 477 U.S. officers killed during that time in auto accidents, compared with 601 officers shot to death.
In Virginia, 327 officers have died in the line of duty between 1792, when the first police death was recorded, and March 2004, according to the memorial fund.
Still, police fatalities are uncommon in Northumberland, a rural county whose sheriff's office has 15 full-time officers.
Middleton has worked in the sheriff's office since 1972. During the past 33 years, no other Northumberland officer had died in the line of duty.
A funeral with full police honors is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday in Kilmarnock. That'll be a time for Northumberland to return some of the love Sanford gave the community for 50 years.
"Everybody's kind of in mourning," Middleton said.
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My prayers are with the family.
On-duty deputy killed in a car crash this weekend was not alone. Automobile accidents are second leading cause of police officer deaths in the past decade
Date published: 6/22/2005
By BILL FREEHLING
Deputy John W. Sanford Jr. had several loves in his life. He died early Sunday morning doing one of them.
Sanford, killed in the line of duty, had worked as a part-time deputy with the Northumberland County Sheriff's Office since 1994, said Sheriff Wayne Middleton.
He worked a couple of shifts a week, usually weekends in the Northern Neck locality, but he didn't do it for the money.
"It was almost like a hobby," Middleton said. "He really enjoyed it."
Sanford, 50, died when his Ford Crown Victoria cruiser collided head-on with another vehicle on U.S. 360 a couple of miles west of Burgess just after midnight.
Northumberland has been mourning the loss of Sanford, a lifelong resident and volunteer firefighter who ran an auto repair shop near his Glebe Point home.
Flags are flying at half-mast, and a flower memorial has been placed near the scorched asphalt where the wreck occurred about 75 miles east of Fredericksburg.
"He never knew a stranger," said wife Eleanor Sanford. "He's gonna be missed by a lot of people."
John and Eleanor met in 11th grade at Northumberland High, she said from a folding chair at the Fairfields Volunteer Fire Department's Glebe Point station.
They lost touch, but reconnected seven years ago when Eleanor dropped off her Mercury Marquis at John's repair shop.
They were married on the banks of the Mattaponi River. Sunday, the day he died, was their sixth wedding anniversary.
"He was too young to die," Eleanor said as people drifted into the fire station to remember her husband.
Eleanor and John lived next door to the station, where the deputy was a volunteer firefighter for 32 years--another of his loves.
"He was our most dedicated fireman and had been forever," said Chief Phillip Keyser.
Sanford was the department's assistant chief and a former chief. Eleanor said he bought the house next door to the Glebe Point station so he could be first on the truck, night or day.
Sanford's colleagues at the fire department were faced with an emotional task Sunday morning--putting out the flames from the accident.
Sanford was heading west toward a fight in progress at the Callao Apartments when the accident occurred on a curvy stretch, Middleton said.
According to Virginia State Police Sgt. Kevin Barrick, an eastbound 1992 Dodge Dynasty crossed into the westbound lane and hit Sanford's car.
Warren Blackwell was in bed at his nearby home when the accident occurred. He heard a loud boom and saw smoke when he looked out the window.
Then he saw the flames flying, near Pumpkin Hill Road, which leads to Camp Kittamaqund. Blackwell thought maybe a fuel truck had crashed. He saw the blue lights of Sanford's vehicle, but those died out as the fire raged.
Another Northumberland deputy who also was driving to the fight pulled Sanford from his car. Barrick said that deputy had narrowly missed the Dodge and had radioed to warn Sanford, who was about a half-mile back.
When he got no response, the deputy turned back to find the two cars in flames. He wasn't able to get the other driver out. Both drivers died at the scene.
Barrick said the first deputy, whose name isn't being released, clocked the Dodge going 78 mph. Middleton said he thinks Sanford was probably going about 70 mph.
Middleton said he's 95 percent sure the driver of the Dodge is an 89-year-old Heathsville man. But he was burned beyond recognition and had no medical records, so it's been difficult to confirm his identity.
Barrick said there's no evidence that alcohol played a role. He said a toxicology study will be done on the Dodge driver's body, but he said it's hard to measure after blood has reached high temperatures.
Middleton said Sanford was one of his most safety-conscious officers, always wearing a bulletproof vest. Barrick said he was wearing his seatbelt during the crash, and his lights and sirens were on.
Like all Virginia law enforcement officers, Sanford had received police academy training on pursuits and defensive driving.
Automobile accidents are the second-most-common cause of death for U.S. police officers killed in the line of duty between 1995 and 2004, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
There have been 477 U.S. officers killed during that time in auto accidents, compared with 601 officers shot to death.
In Virginia, 327 officers have died in the line of duty between 1792, when the first police death was recorded, and March 2004, according to the memorial fund.
Still, police fatalities are uncommon in Northumberland, a rural county whose sheriff's office has 15 full-time officers.
Middleton has worked in the sheriff's office since 1972. During the past 33 years, no other Northumberland officer had died in the line of duty.
A funeral with full police honors is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday in Kilmarnock. That'll be a time for Northumberland to return some of the love Sanford gave the community for 50 years.
"Everybody's kind of in mourning," Middleton said.
***************************
My prayers are with the family.