Grant County deputy killed in rollover

A Grant County sheriff’s deputy killed in a one-car crash on Sunday has been identified as John Bernard, 52, of Moses Lake. Sheriff Frank T. DeTrolio said that Bernard died in a collision that occurred when his patrol car went off of Road 5 NW as he was traveling westbound at state Highway 283 nine miles south of Ephrata about 7:20 p.m. on Sunday. The patrol vehicle rolled over, and Bernard died at the scene of the accident. The Associated Press reported that Bernard was wearing a seat belt and that the road was wet at the time. The Washington State Patrol is handling an investigation into the incident, and the Grant County coroner was expected to hold an autopsy. Bernard had worked as a deputy in the county for the past four years. Prior to that, he was a patrol officer for Ephrata police from 2002 to 2006. He had been a corrections officer in the county from 1997 to 2002. He was married with two boys, one of whom is also a Grant County sheriff’s deputy. The sheriff said in a press release that Bernard “was a tireless public servant whose commitment to law enforcement and serving the citizens helped make Grant County a safer place.”