By Darian Stevenson
syracuse.com
VOLNEY, N.Y. — A two-car crash that killed an Oswego County deputy Wednesday morning was “simply an accident,” according to Oswego County Sheriff Don Hilton.
Deputy Cailee Campbell, 33, was responding to a call with her lights on when her cruiser and a car collided in Volney, according to Hilton.
She was responding to a vehicle crash, sheriff’s deputies said Wednesday evening.
Around 6:42 a.m. Campbell drove through the intersection of Route 176 and Rowlee Road, Hilton said. Campbell’s cruiser and a car collided, he said.
“The department doesn’t have a lot of particulars as to what went wrong,” Hilton told Syracuse.com|The Post-Standard Wednesday.
Hilton said it’s possible the other driver did not see Campbell’s cruiser.
“It was dark, it was raining. I don’t want to portray any thoughts that there was any fault of the other guy,” Hilton said. “That’s not the case at all.”
Shortly after asking Campbell for a status check, a 911 dispatcher informed other units that there were reports her car was involved in a crash, according to dispatches from the county 911 center.
Several people called 911 to report one car had flipped at the intersection, according to dispatchers.
Campbell was trapped in her vehicle, dispatchers said. When emergency crews arrived they requested a “heavy rescue,” dispatchers said. Campbell was removed about 15 minutes after the call came in, according to dispatches.
Hilton said Campbell’s platoon mates arrived and tried life-saving measures. Campbell died at Oswego Hospital.
“There are some pretty shaken up people, especially her platoon mates,” Hilton said.
The other driver was taken to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse with non-life-threatening injuries, Hilton said. The driver should be released from the hospital later today, he said.
Wednesday afternoon, a procession of a hearse, police cars and other vehicles took Campbell’s body to Syracuse. Police and firefighters gathered to honor her as she was moved from Oswego Hospital to the Wallie Howard Forensic Center in Syracuse.
Over 200 Syracuse police officers and Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office deputies were waiting at the center. Syracuse Police Chief Joseph Cecile and Onondaga County Sheriff Tobias Shelley were among those waiting.
They saluted as the procession passed.
Oswego police officers and Border Patrol agents also gathered at the center on Elizabeth Blackwell Street following the procession.
The hearse was escorted into the building by two motorcycles followed by two Oswego deputy cruisers and another car.
Campbell was a deputy in Oswego for 17 months, Hilton said. She was a patrol officer, he said.
Hilton described Campbell as “fantastic.” She always smiled and “loved the job,” he said.
The sheriff had spoken to Campbell just a week before the crash.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Hilton said. “She was ear-to-ear smiling and absolutely loving it.”
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