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Collision between deer, cycle kills a longtime county police officer
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An Allegheny County police officer has died as a result of injuries he received when the motorcycle he was operating crashed into a deer Saturday in Westmoreland County.
The officer was identified as Sgt. Perry Vahaly, 44, of Clairton.
A Westmoreland County emergency dispatcher said the officer was traveling along Route 51 in Rostraver when the deer ran into his path at 12:41 a.m.
Sgt. Vahaly, who was stationed most recently in South Park, had been flown to Allegheny General Hospital, North Side, where he died at 10:09 p.m. A spokesman for the Allegheny County medical examiner's office said he died of blunt force trauma to the head and trunk.
Authorities would not say whether he was on duty.
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald issued the following statement Sunday: "On behalf of the nearly 1.3 million residents of Allegheny County, I extend my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Sgt. Vahaly who died yesterday following injuries sustained in an accident. ... We are grateful for his service to Allegheny County. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and six children as they struggle with this loss."
Sgt. Vahaly, a 17-year veteran of the Allegheny County Police, had previously served as a narcotics officer, according to Mr. Fitzgerald's statement.
First Published September 3, 2012 12:00 am
