LA County Sheriff’s deputy, 14-year-old daughter killed in off-duty crash in Oregon

Last Updated on July 26, 2020 by CCAR Staff

A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy and his daughter died in a crash while they were driving through a rural area of Oregon on a family vacation early Saturday morning.

Sheriff’s officials said Deputy Dennis Gill and his 14-year-old daughter died in the crash in Polk County, Oregon near Salem. Gill’s 11-year-old son, who was also in the car, survived the crash but was injured.

The deaths were announced Saturday in social media posts by sheriff’s officials. They said Gill worked for the Sheriff’s Department for nearly 20 years.

Gill started at the Sheriff’s Department in 2000. Since then he worked at the sheriff’s massive jail facility in Castaic, in court services in Pasadena and on patrol in West Hollywood and the Crescenta Valley.

“No matter where he went, Dennis was very well-liked by his peers and respected for the extra duties he took on,” officials wrote.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva also shared the message about Gill on his Twitter account.

In their statements, sheriff’s officials said the crash occurred in sprawling, sparsely populated Polk County located in northwest Oregon, sandwiched between the coast and the city of Salem. But officials reached Sunday said they didn’t have information about exactly where the crash occurred, or under what circumstances.

The time of the crash also wasn’t clear, though officials said it occurred in the early morning.

Officials said Gill is survived by his wife. They didn’t say whether she was also up in Polk County with her family. Their son’s condition and whether he was taken to a hospital was not released Sunday.

A dispatcher with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office did not know the exact location of the crash. A deputy who responded to the scene could not be reached for comment.