PORTSMOUTH, Va. -- A Portsmouth deputy died Sunday night from injuries related to a motorcycle accident on Dec. 7 in Hampton, a sheriff's office spokesman said.
Billy Ray Grimsley, 59, of Portsmouth died Sunday night after a blood clot reached his lungs, said Lt. Lee Cherry of the Portsmouth Sheriff's Office. The blot clot formed after he broke his ankle when he crashed his motorcycle on a bump in the road when returning from the Poquoson Christmas parade, he said.
Grimsley rode a department motorcycle while on duty in the Poquoson parade, Cherry said. He was a deputy with the office for more than 10 years with the last three years being paid, he said. The sheriff's office is treating the death as in the line of duty.
Law enforcement officers from the region attended his funeral Thursday, Cherry said. He was buried at Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens in Suffolk.
Grimsley was an experienced scuba diver trainer who worked to train police dive teams in Hampton Roads, Cherry said. He also played Santa Claus for children every year.
He leaves behind his wife Robin, a son and daughter, Cherry said.
"It's a tremendous loss to this department," Cherry said. "Billy was one of the kindest, most compassionate people we ever met."
Copyright 2013 - Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
