Deputy Sheriff Dean Ridings

Dean Ridings

Deputy Sheriff Dean Ridings was killed in a boating accident while conducting marine patrol on Lake Anna with another deputy.

The boat encountered a large wake, causing it to turn sideways. Deputy Ridings struck his head on the boat, and his partner was thrown overboard.

Other boaters assisted his partner out of the water and back onto the patrol boat, which he immediately returned to shore. Both deputies were transported to Mary Washington Hospital, where Deputy Ridings succumbed to his injuries.

Deputy Ridings was a United States Marine Corps veteran and had served with the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office for six years. He is survived by his wife, two sons, and three grandchildren. Both of his sons also serve as deputies with the agency.