[StBernard] St. Bernard deputy's traffic accident under review

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard deputy's traffic accident under review

Published: Wednesday, December 29, 2010, 3:41 PM     Updated: Wednesday,
December 29, 2010, 3:44 PM

 By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, The Times-Picayune 

A St. Bernard Parish sheriff's deputy who crashed into a tree earlier this
months while responding to an ATM alarm was driving at least 30 mph over
what departmental regulations allow, according to a preliminary crash report
released Wednesday.

Deputy Jeffery Westerfield, 28, was travelling at least 75 mph in a 45 mph
zone about 12:40 a.m. on Dec. 12 when his vehicle left the roadway, struck a
tree in the median of East Judge Perez Drive in Violet and caught fire, the
departmental report states.


According to sheriff's department call response rules, Westerfield should
have proceeded "directly to the scene obeying all legal speed limits." Even
if he were responding to a higher priority crime, such as an ongoing
physical crime against a person, emergency response rules only allow
deputies to exceed the speed limit by 10 mph.

Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said the department's accident review
board will further examine the incident and make a recommendation to Sheriff
Jack Stephens on whether disciplinary action should be taken.

The review board is made up of senior members of the department, according
to Pohlmann. He said no timetable is in place for that review as the board
typically waits until there are several accidents to review at one time.

Westerfield was driving the department's white 2010 Ford Crown Victoria east
in the left lane of Judge Perez when he switched to the right lane in an
attempt to pass a slower moving vehicle in front of him. The Crown Victoria
began sliding sideways, and as Westerfield attempted to steer out of that
slide, he overcorrected, losing control of the vehicle, according to the
report.

The vehicle went into the gravel shoulder on the right, spun 180 degrees
across both travel lanes, jumped the median curb while sliding sideways and
then struck a tree in the middle of the raised grass median. After hitting
the tree, the car continued forward for about 25 feet and then burst in
flames, the report states.

Three passers-by pulled a dazed Westerfield from the vehicle as the fire
spread from the engine to the rest of the car, according to the report and
those on the scene. Westerfield was hospitalized for about two days for a
fractured vertebrate and a few fractured ribs and is currently not working
due to the injuries,, according to Pohlmann.

All and all, the vehicle driven by Westerfield was out of control for about
410 feet, the report states.

Westerfield was inattentive and careless, according to the report, and since
no drugs or alcohol were suspected in the crash, no drug or alcohol tests
were administered. 

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