Bridges dedicated to fallen Peach County deputies Patrick Sondron and Daryl Smallwood
The Peach County Sheriff’s Office says the bridge dedications are a lasting tribute to Sgt. Patrick Sondron and Deputy Daryl Smallwood’s courage and commitment.
PEACH COUNTY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Two bridges in Peach County are now dedicated to two deputies who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2016.
The Peach County Sheriff’s Office held a bridge dedication ceremony on Thursday to honor Sgt. Patrick Sondron and Deputy Daryl Smallwood. The sheriff’s office says this is a lasting tribute to their courage, commitment and love for their community.
In 2016, Sondron and Smallwood lost their lives after being fatally shot by a man being arrested for threatening to shoot men riding a motorcycle and four-wheeler in front of his home. Sondron’s wife, Melissa Sondron, says the tribute gives her peace to know her husband is being honored.
“I get goose bumps every time I think about it,” she said. “Every time I pass the bridges, I get goose bumps. It’s just an overwhelming honor.”
Sondron says when drivers cross the bridges, she hopes they will search her husband’s name and see what a courageous officer he was.
“I hope they go, ‘Wow, that must have been somebody spectacular that they have a bridge named after them.’ I’m a Google person, so I hope they go home and Google and see the stories, the good as well as the bad,” she said.
Peach County Sheriff Buck Shannon says the ceremony represented brotherhood within the police force.
“It showed tremendous love throughout the community, and even from counties over,” he said. “We had Houston, Warner Robins, Perry — just a loving community.”
Sondron says her husband wasn’t just a cop. He was a husband, father and loving friend.
“He brought a lot to the community and our family,” she said. “I was a single mom of three kids, and he took us all on; he chose us. And I just want him to be remembered for the funny, loving and caring guy he was.”
You can find the bridge dedicated to Sergeant Sondron at Exit 149 and Deputy Smallwood’s at Exit 146 on the Georgia 247 Connector.
