Cop Seriously Injured In Rollover Accident As He Speeds Toward A White Center Burglary

A King County Sheriff’s deputy who was speeding toward a burglary call in White Center was seriously injured in a rollover crash early Friday morning as he lost control of his vehicle on Des Moines Memorial Way near 17th Place South.

According to the report, the officer was racing to a burglary call around 2:15am when he lost control of the car and rolled down a 20-foot embankment in the 10000 block of Des Moines Memorial Way. When the deputy’s car went off the roadway it took down a part of a cyclone fence along the edge of the sidewalk. One of the fence rails went through the vehicle windshield and impaled the shoulder harness the deputy was wearing. The harness ended up around the deputy’s neck and he was unconscious when found.

The deputy, age 30, has been with the Sheriff’s Office, working for the city of Burien for just over 1½ years. His identity has not yet been released.

Three residents nearby ran to the accident after hearing the crash, and a passing deputy in route to the same White Center call stopped. They were able to pull out the smashed windshield and pole, likely saving the life of the deputy.

It took the fire department about ½ hour to extradite the deputy from his vehicle, and they had to cut off the top of the car to do so. He was taken to Harborview Hospital and is in serious but stable condition.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation.