A 17-year veteran with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Sergeant Dominic Vaca, 43, was shot and killed following a motorcycle pursuit in Yucca Valley around 2 p.m.

Shortly after 12:30 p.m., deputies were conducting enforcement operations for off-highway vehicle violations when they spotted the motorcycle without a license plate. The man on the motorcycle refused to pull over, and a chase ensued, the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

During the pursuit, the suspect “bailed out of the vehicle” and ran into the desert, the news release said. As deputies approached the motorcycle and attempted to find the rider, he started firing at responding deputies, fatally striking Vaca.

Other deputies returned fire and killed the subject. However, Vaca was flown to a trauma center, where he died a short time later.

To donate to Sergeant Vaca’s Fund a Hero Memorial Fund, please visit
PORAC.org/fundraiser/sgt-dominic-vaca-memorial-fund.