Deputy Sheriff William Joseph "Joe" Hudnall
Deputy Sheriff William (Joe) Hudnall
Kern County Sheriff's Department
Bakersfield, California
End of Watch: Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Biographical Info
Age: 43
Tour of Duty: 9 years
Badge Number: 754
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Vehicular assault - manslaughter
Date of Incident: Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Weapon Used: Automobile; Alcohol / Drugs involved
Suspect Info: Daniel Patrick Willsey
Deputy William Hudnall was killed when his department SUV was struck head-on by a drunk driver (49-year-old Daniel Patrick Willsey) on Highway 178 in Kern River Canyon.
The collision caused Deputy Hudnall's patrol car to plummet 100 feet down the canyon.
Deputy Hudnall was transported to Kern Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. A prisoner, Grace Brown, 18 that Deputy Hudnall was transporting from Lake Isabella the Bakersfield downtown jail was injured in the crash.
The drunk driver was charged with vehicular manslaughter and felony DUI.
Deputy Hudnall had served with the Kern County Sheriff's Department for 9 years. He is survived by his wife and four children.
Please keep his family, department, and friends in your prayers. His wife is a friend of mine and he is one of our brothers.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Daniel Patrick Willsey has been sentenced to six years in prison for the 2006 death of Kern County Sheriff's deputy Joe Hudnall.
Willsey, a Los Angeles-area attorney, was sentenced Friday in Kern County Superior Court. He took a plea deal last month that convicted him of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
Since criminal charges were filed in 2007, there has been ongoing controversy surrounding differing lab results concerning samples of Willsey's blood. All the samples showed Willsey was under the influence of methamphetamine. But the county's test showed a level that may not technically be considered under the influence. Under the plea agreement, Willsey admitted to being under the influence of meth.
Hudnall was killed Nov. 14, 2006, in a head-on crash with Willsey while on-duty and driving in the Kern River Canyon.
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