In a news release published to social media, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) shared that Sheriff Derek Sanders had been involved in a Yelm area collision and was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center.
At about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, April 2, Sheriff Sanders was driving southbound on Lawrence Lake Road SE. The collision happened after a pickup truck with a trailer pulled in front of him, TCSO shared. The driver of the other vehicle was a 30-year-old man from Yelm who “showed signs of impairment” but otherwise was uninjured, according to the news release. The Washington State Patrol is investigating to determine if the other driver was indeed impaired and which party is at fault.
Kendahl Tuttle, a friend of the Sanders family, shared an update on Facebook on Sunday afternoon before he was released from the hospital, “Update - Derek didn’t sustain life-threatening injuries and he isn’t going to the ICU.”
Tuttle received a message from Sanders’s mother sharing that he had been intubated and that the first scans were looking good. He had gone in and out of consciousness and had visits from his girlfriend, a best friend, lots of Seattle PD, and TCSO visiting him. She shared that the dispatch center got “that call they never want, but did an amazing job getting him airlift.” She thanked everyone for their prayers.
Recovering
On Sunday Sanders said in a post on Facebook, “Thank you all for wrapping your arms around me. I’m ok.”
TCSO updated Sanders’ status on Sunday at 11:45 p.m., “We are happy to share that Sheriff Sanders has been released from the hospital. Thank you for your support.”
TCSO said that they will release information as it becomes available.
Editor's note: this article has an edit to the month. The incident was April 2.
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KBWarrior
Heal quickly, Sheriff!
Friday, April 7, 2023 Report this