A Riverside County sheriff’s deputy critically injured in a collision on Friday, May 12 has died, the Sheriff’s Department announced Sunday morning.
Brett Harris, 26, who was assigned to the Hemet station, was responding as backup to a call when his Ford Explorer patrol SUV collided with a Nissan Maxima in a San Jacinto intersection, authorities said.
The deputy was driving west on Esplanade Avenue and a 54-year-old woman from Hemet was driving north on State Street when the SUV and sedan collided at about 2:15 a.m. The intersection has traffic signals.
The SUV was hit on the driver’s side. After the collision, it crashed into a light pole.
Harris suffered major injuries, including a catastrophic brain injury, the Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
With immense sadness and a heavy heart, that we announce that RSO has lost another deputy in a line of duty death, Deputy Brett Harris, EOW: 5/13/23
Link to PR: https://t.co/Liq6IwvTxp pic.twitter.com/mUmy2ocAZU
— Riverside County Sheriff (@RSO) May 14, 2023
A second deputy injured a knee when he tried to free the critically injured deputy from the SUV, said Sgt. Wenndy Brito-Gonzalez, a department spokeswoman. Harris had to be cut out of the vehicle. The second deputy was treated at a hospital and released.
The civilian driver and a second person were hospitalized, authorities said. Their injuries were described as moderate and minor.
CHP Officer Jason Montez did not say which driver was at fault. The CHP is investigating the crash.
Harris’ survivors include his wife, parents, twin sister and a brother. Funeral arrangements are pending.
The deputy’s organs will be donated, the Sheriff’s Department announced. A procession in honor of Harris are pending because of the organ donation process.
“The Harris family is currently working with the hospital to ensure his wishes are honored,” Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said Sunday morning.
The department has seen other line-of-duty deaths in recent months.
Deputy Darnell Calhoun, 30, was shot in a development of single-family homes in the unincorporated community of Lakeland Village near Lake Elsinore in January. That shooting was one week after a memorial service for Deputy Isaiah Cordero, 32, who was killed during a traffic stop in Jurupa Valley on Dec. 29.
Harris’ collision occurred the same week that Bianco and members of the Riverside Sheriff’s Association, the deputies’ union, attended the National Peace Officers Memorial in Washington D.C. to honor Deputy Cordero, according to the Sheriff’s Association.
It’s an honor to be in Washington, D.C. during the @nleomf National Peace Officers Memorial with the loved ones of our fallen heroes Deputy Isaiah Cordero. 💙 pic.twitter.com/et9Tb7jwnI
— Riverside Sheriffs' Association (@RSA1943) May 13, 2023
During National Police Week, 556 new names of officers who died in the line of duty were added to the memorial. Those included 224 officers who died in 2022. Calhoun will be honored in 2024 because he was slain in 2023.
Calhoun’s death will still be noted starting at 8:30 a.m. on May 20 at the Riverside County Peace Officers’ Memorial Ceremony at the Safe in His Arms monument in front of the Riverside police headquarters on Orange Street. The names of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Alejandro Flores-Banuelos, Riverside sheriff’s Correctional Lt. Steve Taylor and Cordero will be added to the monument. Calhoun’s name will be added before the 2024 ceremony.
SCNG Staff Writer Brian Rokos and City News Service contributed to this report.
