Those emergency lights and sirens are not meant to make cops crash proof
Driving like a bat out of hell gets more cops killed while on duty every year than gunfire or any other cause. In this case two CHP officers were killed when they came upon the multi-vehicle accident they were responding to and driving too fast to stop in time to avoid crashing their patrol car. What officers don't seem to realize is that the arrival-on-scene time difference between going 75 mph and 95 mph in most cases is negligible.
Jeff ‘Paco’ Doyle says, “Cops need to learn to wear their seatbelts just like the rest of us.” Paco is absolutely right, but when cops keep driving with reckless abandonment, seat belts may not be enough to save their lives in a crash. And the latest reports from CHP do reveal that both officers were wearing their seat belts when they died.
2 CHP OFFICERS KILLED IN HIGHWAY 99 CRASH
By Tim Sheehan and Jim Guy
The Fresno Bee
February 17, 2014
FRESNO, Calif. — Two California Highway Patrol officers died early Monday on Highway 99 while driving to a collision near Kingsburg.
They have been identified as Brian Law of Clovis and Juan Gonzalez of Fresno.
CHP Capt. Dave Paris said the CHP received multiple calls about a collision in the northbound lanes of Highway 99 south of Sierra Avenue. The officers were responding when they drove right up on the crash scene, which was in the southbound lanes north of Sierra. They took evasive action to avoid striking any of the other parties and struck a guard rail with their Ford Crown Victoria cruiser. Gonzalez was driving. They died at the scene.
Paris said Law, 34, and Gonzalez, 33, attended the California Highway Patrol Academy together, graduating in 2008. Gonzalez then served as an officer in Oakland and Law went to San Jose.
They then both came to the Central Division, where they teamed up to work the night shift and became the best of friends.
Paris said Law is married, has three children and lives in the Clovis area. Gonzalez, who lives in the Fresno area, was talking about marriage with his girlfriend.
Services for the men are pending.
"Everybody that comes on the CHP understands the risks," said Paris. "Their biggest goal is to help their community, to strengthen their community. They understand that they can become a victim of an assault or a traffic collision. It's always in their mind and they prepare for it."
Paris expressed some disappointment that the names of the officers were made known on social media before some family members could be informed by CHP officials personally.
Monday afternoon, the CHP reopened the left lane of southbound Highway 99 at the crash scene in Kingsburg, but the right-hand lane remains closed.
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