The King County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate a car crash in October that killed a Kent teen.
A deputy in a Sheriff’s Office patrol car collided with a vehicle driven by Brandon Gonzalez, 17, a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School in the Federal Way School District. Gonzalez died from injuries suffered in the accident. The crash was at 12:30 a.m. on Oct. 20 at the intersection of South 196th Street and 68th Avenue South.
“It is still having some investigation done by detectives, so no review board has been held (or scheduled yet),” said Sgt. Cindi West of the Sheriff’s Office in a March 27 email.
A Driving Review Board that includes seven members from the Sheriff’s Office will look at the findings of the case once the investigation is finished. The deputy involved in the crash is a seven-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office.
The deputy suffered a broken wrist in the accident. Two passengers in the Acura driven by Gonzalez were treated for minor injuries.
The board will decide if the deputy’s driving was within policy and the law, whether it was preventable or not and if any training or discipline should be given to the deputy, West said.
The deputy told investigators after the accident that he had a green light. The surviving occupants of the other car were unsure if their light was green or red.
Friends and relatives of Gonzalez continue to place a memorial of flowers near the sidewalk at the southeast corner of the intersection.
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