Deputy dies 2 days after on-duty crash, sheriff announces

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA/Gray News) - A deputy in Montgomery County, Alabama, who was critically injured in an on-duty crash Wednesday has died from his injuries, Sheriff Derrick Cunningham confirmed late Friday night.

Deputy Jermyius Young, 21, died from his injuries while being treated at UAB Hospital in Birmingham Friday evening.

“Deputy Young was a fine law enforcement officer. He was loyal, unselfish, and efficient,” Cunningham said, in part, in a statement released on social media.

Young was involved in a crash in his patrol vehicle on Wednesday at around 7 p.m., according to officials with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the department handling the investigation.

Investigators said the single-vehicle crash happened in the 4500 block of Hobbie Road, located in south Montgomery County, though the cause remains under investigation.

The deputy was initially taken to Baptist Medical Center South before he was transferred to UAB.

Cunningham said in an interview Thursday he received a call he never wants to answer Wednesday. He then went to the hospital to be with the deputy and his family.

“And I turned around and look, and when you see all of his coworkers there, people leaving homes, some of the people that graduated academy with him, they’re standing there with us,” the sheriff explained while Young was in the hospital. “I mean, so this is a hard time for us in law enforcement, especially when you have an incident such as this, and you know that person is in critical condition. Man is speechless. Only thing we can do is pray.”

Cunningham called Young a role model, not just for other deputies, but for him. He also said the deputy always came to work with a smile on his face.

Young was with the sheriff’s office since he was 18 years old.