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2 Palm Beach County Deputies Die In Accident

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By BRIAN SKOLOFF The Associated Press

Published: November 29, 2007

PAHOKEE - Two Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies who had tried to stop a stolen vehicle on a rural road were killed when they were struck by a fellow deputy's patrol car early Wednesday. The driver of the patrol car was injured, authorities said.

Scores of officers combed the region looking for two people in the car theft. Sheriff Ric Bradshaw later said they had one in custody.

The deputies had put spikes on a road that punctured the stolen car's tires. When they ran to take the spikes off the road about 1:45 a.m., however, they were struck by a canine patrol vehicle that was pursuing the car thieves, Bradshaw said.

"They probably did not estimate the K-9 was coming at the speed that it was," Bradshaw said at a news conference. "You're talking about a road that is absolutely pitch black."

The stolen car stopped after its tires were punctured. The suspects then fled into sugar cane fields near Pahokee. The patrol car that hit the deputies slid into a canal.

"Everybody involved in this was doing their job. They were doing it the right way, but this is a dangerous job," Bradshaw said, adding that the two deputies were killed "instantaneously."

At least 75 officers and several canine units converged on the area and spent five hours combing the fields. That focused search ended as detectives pursued other leads.

Police later arrested Ernie Kirk Daley Jr., 19, of Pahokee, and identified him as the driver. Authorities tracked him down with help from the community and arrested him without a struggle, Bradshaw said.

"This is a very tight-knit community. They love these deputies," he said.

Daley was charged with one count of grand theft, one count of fleeing and eluding causing death, and two counts of aggravated manslaughter of a law enforcement officer by culpable negligence, said sheriff's spokesman Paul Miller.

Authorities were still trying to determine the identity of the remaining suspect.

The chase began after a Belle Glade resident called police to report that a neighbor's car was being stolen. Deputies who responded saw the car and pursued it.

The sheriff identified the dead officers as 13-year veteran Donta Manuel, 33, and Jonathan Wallace, 23, who had been with the sheriff's office for 1 1/2 years.

The driver of the patrol car that hit them, Gregorio Fernandez, 39, was being treated for a concussion and a broken arm and was in fair condition, Bradshaw said. His police dog was uninjured. A trainee in the car, Usbaldo Lara Jr., 23, was treated for minor injuries and released.

Wallace had been shot on duty in August, but was saved by his bulletproof vest. He was engaged to be married soon and had been looking for a house to buy with his fiancee, said Pahokee Mayor J.P. Sasser. He always wanted to be a police officer, Sasser said.

"Jonathan was always up at City Hall volunteering," he said. "He has always been involved in our community. He's always tried to do things that would make a positive contribution. ... We were very proud of him."

Sasser described Wallace and Manuel as "very close." He said Manuel, a father of two young children, was going to be Wallace's best man at his wedding.

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