UPDATE: Marion County sheriff’s Dep. Timothy Fretts, 29, was released from Ocala Regional Medical Center on Sunday with minor injuries. His K-9 partner, Robo, was unharmed in the early-morning crash.
A Marion County sheriff’s K-9 deputy was seriously injured early Sunday morning when his patrol vehicle crashed on the way to a domestic violence disturbance.
Dep. Timothy Fretts, 29, of Ocala, was traveling north on SE 38th Street at about 12:40 a.m. when the right-side tires of his 2015 Ford Explorer left the paved portion of the roadway, causing his patrol vehicle to lose traction. The front of Frett’s SUV struck a mailbox and a utility electronics box before hitting a wooden utility pole, a Florida Highway Patrol report states.
Fretts’ patrol vehicle then spun around the utility pole, overturned and came to rest on its wheels facing south, the FHP report says.
Fretts, who was wearing his seatbelt, suffered “incapacitating” injuries and was transported to Ocala Regional Medical Center. It was unclear if his K-9 partner was in the vehicle with him, and if so, the condition of the animal following the crash.
