Dean Ridings, a part-time deputy with the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office, was killed while on marine patrol when a large wake hit his 19-foot patrol boat, Fredericksburg.com reports.
The jolt of the wake or series or wakes knocked Ridings unconscious and ejected fellow deputy William Schroeder from the 1994 Invader outboard boat. Schroeder, who was piloting the boat, was rescued by other boaters and returned to the boat.
Ridings' two sons are members of the Spotsylvania sheriff's force. He was the first deputy from the department killed in the line of duty since 1988.