Officer Dave Yaney
ENGLEWOOD OH Jan 11 2013
Police investigating the death of a 33-year veteran of the Trotwood Police Department in a crash Wednesday are waiting for the results of an autopsy to help determine the accident’s cause.
Officer David Yaney, 59, died just before dawn Wednesday when his pickup truck drove off an Englewood road, hit a guardrail and went airborne, plunging 35 feet into 10 feet of creek water.
Englewood officers arriving three minutes after the 5:42 a.m. crash could not see the red Chevrolet S-10 pickup in the waters of Buttermilk Falls Creek in the 700 block of Taywood Road. All they saw were the dim head and tail lights before they went out, Englewood police Sgt. Mike Lang said.
Lang said crash scene investigators were trying to determine the cause of the crash. “A lot will depend on what the coroner finds,” he said. Lang did not know how long it would take to complete the investigation.
Yaney was alone at the time of the crash. He is the first officer killed in the region this year. His daughter Sarah is a New Lebanon police officer, said Bruce Kettelle, Trotwood council member. Yaney administered his daughter’s oath of office in 2008 before the New Lebanon City Council.
“They called him the mayor of Drexel because he knew everybody,” Trotwood police Chief Quincy Pope said. “He epitomized community policing. I can’t believe the number of calls I’m getting from the public and police throughout the region.”
“We are heart broken and grief stricken,” Pope said. “It is hard to find the words to express our feelings of loss and sadness. We ask that you keep the family, the Trotwood Police Department, and our community in your prayers.”
Yaney was “not only a colleague and friend, but he was our family,” Pope said. The chief added Yaney had earned numerous commendations over his lengthy career.
Pat Allen, former president of the Drexel neighborhood watch, said of Yaney, “We lost a good guy. A lot of Drexel people will miss him. We could depend on him. He made a point to get to know people. He respected people.”
Lang said the roadway was wet at the time of the crash. The four-lane southbound section of Taywood is straight after a curve some 150 yards north. A surveillance video from a nearby car wash shows the truck travelling normally, wandering into the northbound lanes, then hitting the sloping end of a guardrail without braking. There were no apparent skid marks on the roadway. The truck’s path could be seen in the broken tree tops down the steep ravine. The truck’s windows were broken out and the cab’s roof collapsed, the front end heavily damaged.
The first responding police officers searched the creek banks but could not go into the icy water. “We can’t have any more victims,” Lang said.
Divers from the Piqua and West Milton fire departments recovered Yaney’s body outside of the pickup about 90 minutes later after searching the 30-foot pool. Lang said divers reported visibility in the debris-filled creek was 12 inches to 18 inches.
Firefighters and rescue workers had to cut a path down the ravine through the brush and trees, using ropes to recover the body. More than 30 first responders gathered around Yaney’s body. In silence they held tarps to screen the body from view awaiting the coroner’s van.
When the van arrived and the body loaded, it was escorted to the coroner’s office by a Trotwood squad car, its lights flashing.
“There wasn’t a better officer around that would do anything for anybody,” he said. “To most people he’s the best loved cop in Trotwood. He’s respected by everybody that knows him.”
Mike Lucking, Trotwood city manager, said Yaney, a Trotwood native and Trotwood High School graduate, joined the force in 1979. He was a Vietnam veteran.
“He knew every square inch of Trotwood,” Kettelle said. “He had so much compassion of everyone in the community. He made it a point of listening and understanding what was going on before he made any decision.”
“There’s just kind of a pall around here today,” Lucking said. “You don’t lose an officer like that and not feel it.”
Source:Dayton Daily News
Officer David Yaney, 59, died just before dawn Wednesday when his pickup truck drove off an Englewood road, hit a guardrail and went airborne, plunging 35 feet into 10 feet of creek water.
Englewood officers arriving three minutes after the 5:42 a.m. crash could not see the red Chevrolet S-10 pickup in the waters of Buttermilk Falls Creek in the 700 block of Taywood Road. All they saw were the dim head and tail lights before they went out, Englewood police Sgt. Mike Lang said.
Lang said crash scene investigators were trying to determine the cause of the crash. “A lot will depend on what the coroner finds,” he said. Lang did not know how long it would take to complete the investigation.
Yaney was alone at the time of the crash. He is the first officer killed in the region this year. His daughter Sarah is a New Lebanon police officer, said Bruce Kettelle, Trotwood council member. Yaney administered his daughter’s oath of office in 2008 before the New Lebanon City Council.
Remembering Officer Yaney
His beat was the Drexel neighborhood and the south end of Trotwood. On Wednesday, he was remembered as an officer dedicated to the community.“They called him the mayor of Drexel because he knew everybody,” Trotwood police Chief Quincy Pope said. “He epitomized community policing. I can’t believe the number of calls I’m getting from the public and police throughout the region.”
“We are heart broken and grief stricken,” Pope said. “It is hard to find the words to express our feelings of loss and sadness. We ask that you keep the family, the Trotwood Police Department, and our community in your prayers.”
Yaney was “not only a colleague and friend, but he was our family,” Pope said. The chief added Yaney had earned numerous commendations over his lengthy career.
Pat Allen, former president of the Drexel neighborhood watch, said of Yaney, “We lost a good guy. A lot of Drexel people will miss him. We could depend on him. He made a point to get to know people. He respected people.”
Unknown cause of accident
Lang said if a witness had not seen the accident, police may not have found the truck for hours as it was completely submerged.Lang said the roadway was wet at the time of the crash. The four-lane southbound section of Taywood is straight after a curve some 150 yards north. A surveillance video from a nearby car wash shows the truck travelling normally, wandering into the northbound lanes, then hitting the sloping end of a guardrail without braking. There were no apparent skid marks on the roadway. The truck’s path could be seen in the broken tree tops down the steep ravine. The truck’s windows were broken out and the cab’s roof collapsed, the front end heavily damaged.
The first responding police officers searched the creek banks but could not go into the icy water. “We can’t have any more victims,” Lang said.
Divers from the Piqua and West Milton fire departments recovered Yaney’s body outside of the pickup about 90 minutes later after searching the 30-foot pool. Lang said divers reported visibility in the debris-filled creek was 12 inches to 18 inches.
Firefighters and rescue workers had to cut a path down the ravine through the brush and trees, using ropes to recover the body. More than 30 first responders gathered around Yaney’s body. In silence they held tarps to screen the body from view awaiting the coroner’s van.
When the van arrived and the body loaded, it was escorted to the coroner’s office by a Trotwood squad car, its lights flashing.
A hometown officer
Joe Jones of Trotwood arrived on the scene after getting a phone call that Yaney was involved in an accident.“There wasn’t a better officer around that would do anything for anybody,” he said. “To most people he’s the best loved cop in Trotwood. He’s respected by everybody that knows him.”
Mike Lucking, Trotwood city manager, said Yaney, a Trotwood native and Trotwood High School graduate, joined the force in 1979. He was a Vietnam veteran.
“He knew every square inch of Trotwood,” Kettelle said. “He had so much compassion of everyone in the community. He made it a point of listening and understanding what was going on before he made any decision.”
“There’s just kind of a pall around here today,” Lucking said. “You don’t lose an officer like that and not feel it.”
Source:Dayton Daily News