Off-duty OC deputy killed in Riverside County crash while driving home from work
An off-duty Orange County sheriff's deputy was killed in a crash while driving home back from work today in Lake Elsinore. The circumstances behind the crash weren't immediately clear.
The fatality occurred about 5:15 a.m. in the 25000 block of Railroad Canyon Road, near Canyon Hills Road, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said paramedics reached the location a short time later and pronounced the deputy dead at the scene. Video from the location showed a vehicle that appeared to have struck a tree in the roadway median.
The deputy was identified as Brian Haney, who worked patrol for six years in San Juan Capistrano. Deputy Haney leaves behind his wife and one-month-old child.
"We are mourning the loss of one of our own,'' according to an Orange County Sheriff's Department statement posted to Twitter. "Earlier this morning, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department informed us that a member of our department was pronounced deceased at the scene of a traffic collision. Our greatest sorrow and condolences are for the member's family and closest friends. During this time, we are collaborating with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department as we prepare to honor our fallen member."
Dozens of the fallen lawman's comrades gathered at the crash scene and saluted as his body -- draped in an American flag -- was removed from the vehicle and placed into a hearse. Just after 11 a.m., a law enforcement procession began, transporting the remains eastbound, presumably to the Riverside County coroner's facility in Perris.
Members of the public can support Deputy Haney’s family through the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs (AOCDS) Memorial Fund: https://www.aocds.org/donate/
