CARY WILLIAMS, ABC ActionNews CLEARWATER, Fla. - A Pinellas County Jail detention deputy was killed early Wednesday when his Nissan pickup truck plowed through a fence and went into a retention pond behind the jail. He's identified as Sergeant Richard Keyser, 44. He joined the Pinellas Sheriff's Office in 1995.
He was the only occupant in the vehicle. An autopsy is planned.
A sheriff's spokesperson said Keyser had worked the third shift at the jail and was supposed to be off today. Investigators aren't sure why he was on the property.
Another employee said they saw Keyser's Nissan speeding before it went into the pond in a restricted area that is not accessible by the public in the area of 14400 49th Street North.
Keyser's wife is a former sheriff's sergeant who was injured in a 2008 car accident. She became a quadriplegic after next surgery and has required around-the-clock care.
The couple had six children.