SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. – The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office is grieving the loss of one of its own after Sergeant Kenneth Salas was killed in the line of duty.
Salas died Saturday morning after being struck by a car while assisting with a traffic hazard on eastbound I-90 near the Four Lakes exit. The Washington State Patrol is investigating the incident.
According to investigators, Salas was blocking traffic to prevent a crash and was moving debris when a motorist struck him. He was rushed to Sacred Heart Medical Center but later died from his injuries.
Sheriff John Knowles expressed his sorrow over the loss and the impact Salas had on the department.
“It was an accident. And sometimes that’s what’s tough is to make sense of something that we’re not going to make sense of. It just happened,” said Knowles.
“And our family, our law enforcement family is mourning. And so is his family. And we would just ask people to respectfully pay honor to Sergeant Salas and we’ll be there for our community and for Sergeant Salas and his family,” said Knowles.
Salas served the community for 34 years and was just 30 shifts away from his planned retirement. Throughout his career, he worked in various roles, including patrol, school resource deputy, traffic unit, and the emergency operations team.
Community members are encouraged to honor Sergeant Salas by leaving flowers at the law enforcement memorial at the public safety building in town.
The Washington State Patrol is handling the ongoing investigation.
