State Patrol seeking witnesses in deputy crash

MONROE - The Washington State Patrol is asking any possible witnesses to the recent fatal collision involving a Grant County sheriff's deputy to step forward.

At the request of the Grant County Sheriff's Office, as is common in these cases, the Washington State Patrol's Major Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) has assumed primary investigative responsibility.

The fatal traffic collision involving an on-duty Grant County sheriff's deputy and a Jeep Cherokee occurred at approximately 9:35 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20, at the intersection of Dodson Road and Road 5 NW.

According to early reports, the deputy was traveling south on Dodson in a 2013 Chevrolet Silverado pickup. He collided with the 1996 Jeep, which was reportedly eastbound on Road 5.

The driver of the Jeep, a young Ephrata woman, suffered fatal trauma, and the deputy sustained non-life threatening injuries.

The MAIT is a unit of the State Patrol that responds to collisions statewide. It is staffed with collision reconstruction detectives and has been investigating the crash using the human, vehicle, environment (HVE) model to determine the causal factors.

There was a temporary three hour closure of Dodson Road, from Road 4 NW-Road 7 NW on Sept. 22 so the state patrol could investigate the accident scene.

As part of the investigation, detectives are seeking witnesses who may have seen any events leading up to the crash or the actual crash. If you have any information or know someone who does, you are asked to contact Detective Sergeant Jerry Cooper at (360) 805-1192 or Detective Ed Collins at (360) 805-1195.