FARIBAULT, Minn. — Rice County Sheriff Jesse Thomas says one of his deputies struck and killed 52-year-old Stephanie Wesley early Saturday morning while driving his squad car.
The crash happened on highway 60 near Holland Avenue in Morristown. Wesley leaves behind two children and three grandchildren.
There are still a lot of circumstances that have yet to be identified surrounding the crash, however, having known Stephanie Wesley for more than 20 years, Shook says she could guess why Wesley was out by herself walking at 2 a.m.
"When Steph gets stressed, or when she's got things going on in her mind, she doesn't want to be around anyone," Shook said. "She doesn't want anyone to tell her how she should feel, or make it better or make it worse, she's the type to be like, 'Give me 15 to 20 minutes. Just leave me alone; let me sort through this in my own head before I'm going to let anyone else help me.'"
Shook says she knew Wesley from softball, and that Wesley was shy for some time before coming out of her shell.
"She'd call everybody 'hon;' that was her thing," Shook said. "She always called you 'hon.' When she walked away she'd say, 'I love you.' She'd say, 'I love ya!' and go on her way."
So when Shook heard about the incident Saturday, she says she sat for a while, waiting for information.
The Minnesota State Patrol, which is investigating the crash, says Rice County Deputy Sgt. Trevor Peterson was driving his squad east on Morristown Boulevard when it "made contact with a person suspected of being in the roadway," according to a press release from police.
"In my heart I know exactly what happened, and it was a horrible accident," Shook said. "That poor officer. People need to remember to send love to his family also because he's going through trauma of his own."
The Rice County Sheriff's Office released Peterson's squad car video, showing dark conditions before 2 a.m. Saturday.
The squad video stops before the crash itself and the release says the squad made contact with what initially appeared to be an object in the road.
The sheriff's office says it continues to investigate the crash as well.
"I've started a GoFundMe for stuff to help with funeral costs," Shook said. "Steph was a single mother of two, and she's been helping raise her grandchildren."
"My main goal is to help Samantha and Alex and the three grandboys, lay their mother and grandmother to rest and not have to have that on top of their minds also," she said.
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