Duty Death: Harminder Grewal - [Galt]
End of Service: 26/08/2021
By Michael McGough and Darrell Smith
The Sacramento Bee
GALT, Calif. — A Galt police officer who was involved in a vehicle crash last weekend as he and a partner were traveling to assist with the Caldor Fire has died, the department announced Friday morning.
Officer Harminder Grewal died Thursday evening following a head-on collision Sunday morning on Highway 99, the Galt Police Department said in a social media post.
Grewal had been hospitalized in intensive care since the incident, which also killed the driver of the other involved vehicle, identified as Manjot Singh Thind, 25, of Manteca.
Grewal’s partner, Officer Kapri Herrera, also suffered serious injuries and was in an ICU in “critical, but stable condition,” the department said in an update earlier this week.
Grewal, a 2 1/2-year department veteran, is survived by his mother, father and brother, the Police Department said.
“He made the ultimate sacrifice while performing his duties as a public servant, responding to danger,” the department wrote in a statement. “Officer Grewal took pride in serving his community and his work ethic was contagious to all who worked with him. His service to our community will never be forgotten.”
The Police Department said a procession Friday from Elk Grove to Lodi along southbound Highway 99 will begin at about 10 a.m.
The deadly crash happened around 4:30 a.m. Sunday near Dillard Road, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A Dodge Ram pickup truck heading southbound hit the center median, broke through a barrier and struck Grewal and Herrera’s patrol vehicle, which was traveling about 70 mph, the CHP said. The two officers had to be extricated from the vehicle.
The pickup driver, Thind, was pronounced dead at the scene by fire personnel. The CHP said it was not known whether drugs or alcohol played a role in the collision.
Two other passengers in the Dodge, both 26-year-old men, were hospitalized with injuries described as moderate.
(c)2021 The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.)