An Air Force captain died Wednesday afternoon when her car was hit by an off-duty El Paso County sheriff’s deputy with a history of traffic offenses who ran a red light, the Colorado State Patrol said.
Vivian Elmo, 41, an active-duty reservist with the 310th Space Wing at Schriever Air Force Base east of Colorado Springs, was turning left from Curtis Road onto Colorado 94 when her 1994 Honda Accord was broadsided by an SUV driven by Rodney Fannin, the patrol said.
Fannin, 42, was heading east on Colorado 94 and drove through a red light at the intersection with Curtis Road, the State Patrol reported. A patrol spokesman said the crash is under investigation and that Fannin has not been ticketed.
Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Michael Schaller said the result of the investigation will determine whether Fannin faces discipline or dismissal.
Schaller said Fannin had worked for the Sheriff’s Office for nine years and was assigned to the detention bureau, either in the jail or transporting prisoners.
The accident sent both vehicles spinning, with Elmo’s car remaining in the roadway and Fannin’s SUV ending up in a nearby field.
Fannin was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries. Elmo was pronounced dead at the scene.
Colorado court records show Fannin has two reckless-driving convictions, one from 1996 and another in January.
Fannin was sentenced to six months’ probation in the January crash after he pleaded guilty.
Schaller said Fannin reported the January incident to his chain of command as required by Sheriff’s Office policy, but due to a breakdown in the notification process, the documentation was not forwarded to upper management.
An administrative investigation has been launched into the circumstances surrounding that incident and Wednesday’s accident, Schaller said.
Fannin was the Sheriff’s Office employee of the month in May 2008.
