DUBLIN, California -- An Alameda County Sheriff’s Office deputy died Thursday morning, a day after suffering head injuries from being hit by a prisoner transport bus at Santa Rita Jail.
Deputy Mike Foley, a deputy for 10 years following a 30-year career at the Concord Police Department, suffered head trauma when the bus hit him in the jail parking lot just after 6 a.m. Wednesday.
He underwent surgery on Thursday to decrease swelling in his brain after being transferred to a second hospital. A CAT scan machine at the first hospital did not operate correctly, forcing the transfer.
Foley was surrounded by his family and friends when he died at 11:25 p.m. at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, sad Alameda County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Kelly. He is survived by his wife, daughter, and son.
“We were hoping for a miracle that he would survive, so we didn’t give up hope until the last second,” Kelly said. “Mike was fighting, but it just came time where he couldn’t overcome his injuries.”
Kelly called the bus incident “an accident” and Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern at a Wednesday press conference said Foley was wearing a dark navy-blue uniform in an “extremely dark” parking lot.
“As he walked in the area of the parking lot, our driver did not see him,” Ahern said.
The bus driver went on administrative leave and is traumatized, Ahern said. Another employee of the Sheriff’s Office was a passenger, and the two were leaving to pick up lunches for inmates when the crash happened.
The California Highway Patrol is handling the investigation, Ahern said.
Foley is the first officer with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office to die in the line of duty in 19 years. Deputy Sheriff John Paul Monego was killed on Dec.12, 1998 in a gunfight.
In a Facebook post, Concord police said Foley “was raised in Concord, was a star athlete at Concord High School, and for more than 29 years was a great presence within our family, and within the community. Mike received numerous meritorious honors as a Concord Police Officer and his family roots run deep here.”
Foley came from a family of law enforcement, as his father was a retired Oakland police sergeant and brother is an officer in the East Bay, Kelly said. The deputy was dedicated to protecting his community and “embodied what’s good about law enforcement.”
“This is a hard career and a hard job,” Kelly said. “But to do it for 40 years takes a special kind of person, and Mike was that special person.”
Staff writer George Kelly contributed to this report. Contact Rick Hurd at 925-945-4789
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