Family Of Fallen Deputy Prevails In Wrongful Death Suit

Sonora, CA — The family of a Tuolumne County Sheriff´s Deputy who was killed in a bizarre chain of events on Memorial Day of 2004 has been awarded $3 million dollars in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the Tuolumne Utilities District.

Deputy David Grant was reportedly responding to the scene of a private plane crash in Columbia with his overhead lights and siren activated when he swerved to avoid hitting a T.U.D. truck.

Reports indicate that the driver of the truck, Jeffrey Meyer, had pulled into the path of the speeding patrol car at Highway 49 and Parrots Ferry Road.

CHP says Grant´s Patrol Car scraped the front of the truck before swerving to avoid another car in the oncoming lane.

The car then left the road and collided with an oak tree. Grant later died at Sonora Regional Medical Center.

He was the first Tuolumne County Sheriff´s Deputy to die in the line of duty in 37 years.

Contact Eric Nelson at Eric Nelson