I was reading an article this past week about a Los Angeles County Sheriffs deputy who died in what would have to be called a freak accident. Here is the article here. Hopefully the link is still working but if not here is the text:
Deputy Killed In Collision With Cement Hauler
ANAHEIM, Calif. — A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy died on the Riverside (91) Freeway Friday when his car collided with a cement hauler, possibly after hitting a stove that somehow ended up on the roadway, authorities said.
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David Stan Piquette, 34, was westbound on the 91, east of Kraemer Boulevard, when his department-issued 2004 Ford Crown Victoria slid sideways and wedged between the two trailers of a big rig loaded with dry cement, said California Highway Patrol Officer Chris Johnson.
Both vehicles traveled, out of control, toward the shoulder, where the big rig landed on top of a 35-foot concrete wall, with the cab on the north side of the wall and the trailers on the freeway side, Johnson said.
The car was so wedged between the trailers that it took nearly 1 1/2 hours to get Piquette’s body out of the wreckage, Johnson said.
NBC4 reported the westbound 91 freeway was tied up for more than six hours, as investigatores tried to piece the incident together.
The trucker, Thomas Hipsher, 39, of Hesperia, was taken to UCI Medical Center with minor to moderate injuries.
The CHP began getting calls at 5:01 a.m. about debris in the road, and several minutes later received the collision report, Johnson said.
Two other motorists reported hitting the stove before the fatal crash, he said.
It was unclear if the deputy — who had been en route to work — had swerved to try to miss the appliance or had struck it, causing him to lose control of the Ford, Johnson said.
The stove, which was new, was recovered just behind the crash site, and investigators hope to determine where it came from, he said.
The truck was going between 50-55 mph in an area of the freeway that is straight, with five regular lanes and an HOV lane, Johnson said.
“It was just a matter of circumstance,” Johnson said of the crash.
Piquette leaves a wife and 3-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, the department’s Kerri Webb said. He joined the department on June 26, 1996, and began as an instructor in the tactical use of force at the Sheriff’s Training Academy and Regional Services Center in Whittier last August, department officials said.
Friday afternoon California’s governor offered condolences to Piquette’s family and ordered that flags throughout the state be flown at half staff, according to NBC4.
The craz thing about this story is I grew up with this guy. We actually went to Junior High School and High School together, Dave was always a stand up guy and I could totally see him becoming a Law Enforcement officer. This is the second death in a little over a year of someone I knew and grew up with has passed away last year this was the line in the OCRegister:
John Joseph Molle Jr., 32, of Santa Ana, a field supervisor, died April 1, 2005. Visitation: 3-9 p.m. today, Funeraria del Angel MacDougall Family Mortuary, Santa Ana. Services: 9 a.m. Thursday, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Santa Ana. Burial service: 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Holy Sepulcher Cemetery, Orange.
Parents, John, Librada; son, Miguel; brothers, Raphael, Andy.
All of this makes you realize that your time here on this earth is not infinite, it really is a finite amount of time and you can live to a ripe old age or have your life ended early. To Dave and John R.I.P. you are missed!!!