YELM, Wash — Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders is recovering from a collision he was in on April 2.
The collision occurred south of Yelm, at the intersection of 153rd Avenue Southeast and Lawrence Lake Road Southeast.
The Washington State Patrol says Sanders’ patrol vehicle was traveling south on Lawrence Lake Rd Southeast when a Ford Ranger pickup truck traveling east on 153rd Ave Southeast hit him.
That driver, a 30-year-old male from Yelm, was uninjured but was taken into custody.
The Washington State Patrol is currently investigating the collision to determine if the incident was a DUI crash.
The driver's arraignment was scheduled to take place Tuesday in Lewis County to avoid a potential conflict of interest. So far, no charges have been filed against the driver.
“When it comes to driving, a lot of things are out of our control,” Sanders said. “We don’t control the environment, we don’t control if it’s raining, we don’t control what others do, but we can try to mitigate as best we can ourselves. Unfortunately, there are some scenarios you get placed in where the best thing you can do is mitigate the damage.”
Sheriff Sanders is now calling on Thurston residents to be mindful when driving, especially on one specific roadway.
“When I got hired out here to the Sheriff’s Office about six years ago…they told me Bald Hill Road, the nickname for it is Fatality Freeway,” he said. “People are always going 80-90 mph on Bald Hill Road, they think they can negotiate the curves, the cell service is bad so people can’t make the call of reckless driving until they get home.”
Currently, Sanders is only working two hours a day under doctor’s orders so he can rest up, but he says Thurston County is in good hands.
“We have a lot of good employees at the sheriff’s office,” Sanders said. “We got a good administration that’s taking on the load right now while I’m gone. They’ve been super helpful, and I’m extremely proud of all the employees at the sheriff’s office who’ve kept pushing forward.”