1 of 2 Photo: Robert Peterson2 of 2 Photo: Robert Peterson
UPDATE 1:30 PM
The California Highway Patrol is releasing the identity of the driver who allegedly caused the crash Friday morning on Highway 99 that killed an Elk Grove Police officer. CHP reports that they received calls into the dispatch center of a wrong way driver passing 47th Avenue around 5:13 AM. Once officers arrived on the scene, they detained the 31-year-old driver Jermaine J. Walton of Sacramento, who they say was driving the 2016 Dodge Challenger at the time of the crash. CHP also reports that officers allegedly found Walton walking away from the scene when they arrived. They also found the unidentified Elk Grove Police Officer thrown from his motorcycle with life threatening injuries. He was transported to the UC Davis Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries.
CHP investigators report they believe Walton was driving northbound in the southbound number one lane before he struck the officer head-on. They have not yet determined how fast each of the vehicles were going at the time of the impact. According to the CHP, Walton had shown signs of intoxication at the scene and was then arrested for suspicion of driving while under the influence. He has been booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on several felony DUI-related charges. The identity of the fallen Elk Grove Police Officer has not been released yet due to the ongoing investigation.
ORIGINAL STORY
An Elk Grove Police Officer was killed in a wrong way crash on Highway 99 near Elk Grove Friday morning. In a quick briefing outside the UC Davis Medical Center, Chief Timothy Albright says the officer was on his way to work around 5:15 AM when a driver entered northbound to the southbound lanes of Highway 99, north of 12th avenue, colliding with the officer. Albright says life saving measures were taken by first responders immediately, but he later died at the hospital. Albright says the officer was a six-year veteran of the department and was one of their motor officers. He calls this a very sad day and that fellow officers are mourning the loss of one of their own. Very few details have been released as the incident is investigated. No information was provided for the identity or condition of the wrong way driver. It is unclear if drugs or alcohol are a factor in the crash.