Holly MatkinSedgwick County, KS – Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) Deputy Sidnee Carter died in the line of duty on Oct. 7 after a driver failed to yield and crashed into her patrol vehicle while she was responding to a disturbance call.
Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter said the fatal collision occurred shortly after 9:30 p.m., the Hays Post reported.
The 22-year-old deputy was driving her 2016 Dodge Charge patrol vehicle southbound on 135th Street at the intersection of 29th Street when 28-year-old Kelvin Burgett failed to stop his 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee at a stop sign, the Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) said.
Burgett slammed into the driver’s side of Deputy Carter’s patrol unit, leaving the deputy with severe injuries.
Burgett was transported to a local hospital by ambulance, the Hays Post reported.
His condition was not immediately released, and it is unclear if he will face charges.
Deputy Carter, who had completed field training less than one week earlier, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The young deputy served the SCSO as a detention officer for 18 months prior to transferring to the department’s Law Enforcement Bureau earlier this year, KAKE reported.
She graduated from the Law Enforcement Academy on July 21, 2022, and successfully passed her field test just six days before her death, Sheriff Easter said.
“She had her whole life ahead of her,” the sheriff said, according to KAKE. “I can’t tell you the impact that something like this has on an organization.”
He said Deputy Carter had dreamed of becoming a law enforcement officer since the time she was young.
“Sidnee is a very bubbly personality, extremely friendly, always helpful, was always smiling, well respected by her peers, her supervisors, and she is a little bit short in nature, but there is no hill that she couldn’t climb,” Sheriff Easter said, according to The Wichita Eagle. “She just had that bearing about her that she just made other people want to be better because of the way she was.”
Deputy Carter leaves behind her parents, as well as her brothers and sisters, the Hays Post reported.
Paying respects to Sedgwick County Sheriff Deputy Sidnee Carter. A memorial has gone up by the crash site that took the young deputy’s life. @KWCH12 pic.twitter.com/sp2bSVqCCs
— Shawn Loging (@KWCHShawn) October 10, 2022
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and colleagues of @SGCountySheriff Deputy Sheriff Sidnee Carter who was killed in a vehicle collision in the line of duty. May God grant her eternal rest. #NeverForget pic.twitter.com/72hz37Kzgn
— NYPD Chaplains Unit (@NYPDchaplains) October 9, 2022
Today, we wore blue ribbons to honor @SGCountySheriff Deputy Sidnee Carter who tragically lost her life in a car accident Friday night.
Sidnee's family and friends will continue to be in our thoughts and prayers. pic.twitter.com/GWkQ6WK8gI
— Wichita State Softball (@GoShockersSB) October 8, 2022
FBI Kansas City offers our condolences to @SGCountySheriff on the tragic death of Deputy Sidnee Carter yesterday. #EOW pic.twitter.com/Lwz4HdDhs8
— FBI Kansas City (@FBIKansasCity) October 8, 2022
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Sidnee Carter, both blood and blue. Thank you for your service.
Rest easy, hero. We’ll hold the line from here.
Sandy Malone
