California Highway Patrol Officer Struck and Killed During Traffic Stop

FAIRFIELD, California -- A California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer and another man were struck and killed by a pickup-truck driver during a traffic stop along Interstate 80 in Fairfield on Friday morning.

The officer was identified as 46-year-old Kirk Griess, who served in the Marine Corps, was a father of three and was a 19-year CHP veteran out of the department’s Solano office.

The other victim was identified as 49-year-old Vallejo resident Jaime Bueza Manuel, CHP officials said.

The driver who plowed into the men was being treated at a local hospital, where he was being interviewed and was cooperating with investigators, CHP officials said. He was not identified.

Investigators have not determined what caused him to crash into the men. He was not under arrest, the CHP said.

The wreck happened shortly after 9 a.m. as Griess conducted an enforcement stop on a gray Saturn sport utility vehicle in westbound lanes of the interstate near Manuel Campos Parkway, officials said.

For an unknown reason, the driver of a white 3/4-ton Chevy pickup truck veered onto the right shoulder and hit Griess and the Saturn, the CHP said.

“The impact was very significant,” CHP Chief Ernie Sanchez said. “The Saturn was almost half the size of what it should be, and the scene was not very pretty.”

Paramedics took the three men in ambulances to local hospitals, where Griess and Manuel were pronounced deceased.

The CHP did not say why Griess had pulled over the Saturn but that it was “an enforcement stop.”

“Our heart goes out to all the CHP staff, not only in the Solano office, but statewide,” Sanchez said. “This is what they do every day. They stop and help people on the shoulder. They enforce the law, making the freeways even safer for us to travel on.”

Several lanes of the interstate were closed throughout the morning while paramedics and law enforcement processed the scene.

Griess and his wife, Kari, have two adult daughters, Kadi and Kaci, and a 14-year-old son, Kole. Before joining the CHP, he served in the Marine Corps and regularly volunteered in the community.

“Officer Griess is going to be dearly missed,” CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley said. “He was the ultimate public servant. He loved what he did.”

Sympathy from fellow law enforcement officials flooded social media as news of Griess’ death spread around California and beyond.

The Pittsburg Police Department offered its “love, thoughts, prayers, and sincerest condolences.” The Richmond Police Department said CHP’s Solano office was “in our thoughts and prayers.” The West Sacramento Police Department said its “hearts are heavy” over the death.

Gov. Jerry Brown released a statement Friday afternoon extending “heartfelt sympathies” to Griess’ family and CHP colleagues. He ordered flags at the State Capitol to be flown at half-staff to honor the fallen officer.

Griess was the first CHP officer killed in the line of duty since Christmas Eve, when a driver killed Officer Andrew Camilleri on Interstate 880 in Hayward.

The driver in that crash, 22-year-old Mohammed Ali, was under the influence of marijuana and alcohol when he plowed into Camilleri and his partner, Jonathan Velasquez, as they were on patrol for intoxicated drivers, the CHP said.

Griess is the 229th officer to be killed in the line of duty since the CHP was formed in 1929.

Any witnesses are asked to contact CHP investigators at 707-917-4357.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky

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