Posted on 09/20/2012 5:36:51 AM PDT by SandRat
SIERRA VISTA — Area officials have expressed sorrow and additional information has been released by the agency investigating the crash that resulted in the death of Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever on Tuesday.
Coconino County law enforcement was initially contacted about the accident at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday when a caller reported a single-vehicle rollover accident on Forest Service Road 109, about two miles north of White Horse Lake, which is about 20 miles southwest of Flagstaff.
The caller had been traveling behind the 2008 white, three-quarter ton Chevrolet pickup truck headed south on a dirt road that leads to White Horse Lake. The caller lost sight of the vehicle for a brief time, then reported seeing a cloud of dust, and as the vehicle came into view, it was clear the vehicle had rolled over and come to a rest upright on its wheels, a press release from the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office states.
The caller advised there were no signs of life coming from the single occupant, later identified as Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever.
Coconino sheriff’s deputies, Williams Fire Department medical personnel and Life Line Medical Transport responded to the scene. Once there, medical personnel determined Dever was deceased. The initial investigation showed that, based on witness statements and physical evidence at the scene, it is believed that, for an unknown reason, Dever lost control of the pickup, causing it to leave the roadway, roll and then come to a rest in an upright position.
Officials from all levels of government and public service who have worked with the late sheriff have begun to comment on Dever’s death.
"Larry has been a leader for this county, this state and, indeed, this country on the issue of illegal immigration for many years. His calm, intelligent and common sense approach to this issue as well as his leadership of the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office is his professional legacy," said Cochise County Supervisor Pat Call in an email statement. "His devotion to his family and friends is a legacy that is immeasurable. Our prayers and thoughts are with his wife, Nancy, and his family tonight. Larry was a friend and a trusted colleague to me. He will be missed by many - and he will be remembered."
Sierra Vista Mayor Rick Mueller said he was "stunned" by the news of Dever’s death.
"It’s very shocking. His friendship, leadership—and in many cases with me, mentorship, when we had conversations about different things and how to proceed—will be missed," Mueller said this morning. "I’ve known Larry since before he ran for office the first time. It will be a serious loss for the entire community as well, of course, for his family. He’s that rare individual that was the right man for the right job at the right time. i can’t think of anyone in county government that I would want to emulate more than Larry. My heart goes out to his family, the sheriff’s office, and all of Cochise County."
Sierra Vista Police Chief Ken Kimmel praised Dever’s efforts to bring attention to the issues along Arizona’s border with Mexico.
"His loss, obviously, has an immediate impact on Cochise County, but there’s going to be a long term impact on a national level. I don’t think there’s another sheriff in this country that had the passion that Larry did on border issues. He just worked tirelessly on that," Kimmel said. "I consider him, really, the patriarch of law enforcement in Cochise County. I know Jimmy Judd’s shoes would be hard to fill, but I think Larry’s come the closest to doing that of anybody I’ve known."
All flags flying at state buildings have been ordered to be lowered to half-staff until sunset today, said Governor Jan Brewer, in a statement released just before 11 a.m.
"I had known Sheriff Dever for well over a decade, stretching back to my days with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. I’ll remember him in his cowboy hat – soft-spoken and unfailingly polite, but firm in his beliefs and steady in his service to the law. In the truest sense, Sheriff Dever was a Western lawman and country gentleman," Brewer said.
U.S. Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl released a joint statement this morning.
"We were deeply saddened to learn about the sudden death of our friend Larry Dever. We spent a great deal of time at the border with Sheriff Dever and know first-hand his long commitment to keeping the people of our state safe. We also admired Sheriff Dever’s strength to speak out when he believed more needed to be done to secure our border. Sheriff Dever was not only a leader in Cochise County, but also across Arizona and throughout the law enforcement community. Sheriff Dever was a man of honor, integrity, and selfless service to the State of Arizona. He will be greatly missed."
According to a statement from the Cochise County Sheriff’s Department, "the Dever family is aware that many will want to make contact with the family to express their condolences, however, they request that no calls be made to them at their personal residence. The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office will relay all messages to the family directly. God bless the Dever family."
Dever was running unopposed in this fall’s election for what would have been his fifth term as sheriff. It is unclear at this time what his sudden passing will mean in the electoral process.
The sheriff was more than a local law enforcement official as he took the lead on the national issue of illegal immigration and its impacts not only on Cochise County, but the state of Arizona and nation. Dever testified before Congress on several occasions regarding these issues and as stated on the county’s website he had assumed a leadership role in attempting to bring resolution to related local concerns.
He was on the National Sheriff Association’s Board of Directors and was elected because of his strong leadership role in Border Law Enforcement Issues.
The sheriff is a native of Cochise County. He was born and raised in St. David.
He and his wife, Nancy, are the parents of six sons. The oldest serves as a major in the U.S. Army, three work for Arizona law enforcement agencies, one as a firefighter, and one attends college. The sheriff died just four days after his 86-year-old mother, Annie Mae Dever, died of cancer.
According to the county’s website, Dever was a 34-year Cochise County law enforcement veteran. He was elected to his first term as sheriff in 1996, following a 20-year career working in the trenches of Cochise County law enforcement. Entering the profession as a deputy in 1976, Dever rose through the ranks from sergeant to major before successfully seeking political office and being re-elected to a fourth term in 2008.
I know nothing about this case, but I know quite a few things about rollovers.
Seatbelts save lives. No question about it. I've been to rollovers where the vehicle was totaled but the people walked away with no injury at all.
I have also been at quite a few rollovers where people wearing seatbelts were severely injured or even killed.
Rollovers at significant speeds can easily produce significant injuries, and they are exactly the type of injuries that a seatbelt is least likely to be able to prevent. A car is supposed to be going forward on its tires. When a car is hit broadside, or even worse when it rolls over and the passenger is pulled in unintended directions, or worst of all, when the roof collapses or stuff gets into the passenger compartment (which doesn't appear to be the case here) seat belts are much less effective than in a forward-facing collision.
Seatbelts are still good at keeping the passenger where he or she is supposed to be, however, and that is really important in preventing or reducing injuries.
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