Santa Clara Co. Sheriff's Office loses 2 deputies in off-duty deaths

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. - Two deputies in Santa Clara County died within days of each other. According to officials, one deputy was hit by a suspected drunk driver over the weekend. The other died after a medical emergency.

Colleagues say both men were well respected. 

A drunk driver allegedly killed a Santa Clara County sheriff's deputy by crashing into the officer as he drove home from work on July 15, the sheriff's office announced. 

Arturo Romero, 51, was driving home from work Saturday when an unidentified driver going the wrong way on Highway 87 crashed into him, a fundraising page in his memory claimed. 

Romero, who had been with the sheriff's office for 24 years, died at the site of the collision.

The sheriff's office announced that another deputy, Richard Reynolds, had died earlier in the week. Reynolds, a 27-year-veteran, died after having a "medical emergency" on July 11, according to Sgt. Russell Davis. A fundraising page in his memory attributed the death to cardiac arrest.

The sheriff's office did not release any other information regarding the deaths.

The two will be remembered due to "their unwavering dedication" to their community, Davis wrote.

"The loss has been devastating. Both are larger than life. They were a huge part of the heart of this organization. Both have been with the organization 20-years plus," said Jamey Hummer, president of the Correctional Peace Officer's Association. The association is the union for sheriff's deputies. 

Flags are now being flown at half staff on county buildings to honor the two men. 

A friend and colleague of the two said both men were thinking about retiring soon. 

"To see them go like this after working hard for 20 plus years to support their families and to lose their lives before they had a chance to enjoy that retirement is particularly troubling," Hummer said. "There is anger and frustration when you lose someone like we've lost, in the ways that we've lost them. It has a deep impact. It has a lasting impact." 

Hummer said Reynolds was his partner at work and that both men set an example for the younger deputies. 

"Both were great leaders and big parts of the family. They were father figures as well as the big brother," Hummer said. 

Both deputies leave behind a wife and children.

CHP said the suspected drunk driver who killed Romero is still at the hospital, but that he is expected to survive. The Peace Officers' Association said it plans to hold a public memorial for the two fallen deputies at a later date. 

The Peace Officer's Research Association of California has set up two fundraising accounts for each of the deputies. You can find more information here: 

https://porac.org/fundraiser/sccpoa_offreynolds/

https://porac.org/fundraiser/sccpoa_officer_romero/