Former Pierce County major sentenced 3 months for DUI crash

Former Pierce Co. sheriff major gets 3 months in jail for vehicular assault

A former Pierce County Sheriff's major will spend three months in jail after a DUI crash last summer.

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. - A former Pierce County Sheriff's major was sentenced to three months in jail and community service for crashing into family's SUV while driving under the influence back in July 2025.

Major Chadwick Dickerson pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to vehicular assault - driving under the influence and obstruction of law enforcement. A judge sentenced Dickerson to three months in jail, followed by two years of probation and a year of community service, as well as a $500 fine with pending restitution, which prosecutors will determine at a later time.

Pierce County Sheriff's Office Major Chadwick Dickerson (Photo courtesy: Pierce County Sheriff's Office)

The backstory:

According to court records, around 3:45 p.m. on July 12, Dickerson failed to yield at the intersection of 132nd Ave E and 288th St E and struck an SUV. Inside the SUV were three young children, their parents and their grandmother, who suffered a fractured vertebra and fractured ribs.

Neighbors ran from their homes to pull family members from the wrecked car.

Sheriff's deputies responded to the scene before Washington State troopers arrived, but a supervisor's body camera was turned off for roughly 14 minutes while he spoke with Dickerson and held several phone calls.

A Washington State Patrol trooper interviewed Dickerson, who admitted he had "two vodka and sodas while golfing," and he declined a field sobriety test. After further questions, Dickerson asked, "Are you going to read me my rights, because you’re asking me incriminating questions?" and later, "What are you, what’s your probable cause?"

Nearly four hours after the crash, a court-ordered blood test returned a BAC of .091.

What's next:

Dickerson was taken into custody at the end of his hearing Tuesday to begin his jail sentence.

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