Roll of Honor
Incident
Deputy Sheriff Donta Manuel and Deputy Sheriff Jonathan Wallace were struck and killed by a patrol car while attempting to remove stop sticks from the roadway on State Road 715, near Lake Okeechobee.
A stolen vehicle that was being pursued by other deputies had just passed over the stop sticks and the two deputies ran into the road to remove them. It is believed that, because of the darkness, the deputies did not observe how fast the pursuing units were following behind the suspect vehicle. One of the pursuing patrol cars struck both deputies, killing them. The driver of that patrol car was seriously injured and flown to a local hospital.
One of the suspects in the stolen car was apprehended a short time later.
Deputy Manuel had served with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office for 13 years.
Deputy Manuel had served with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office for 13 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FL-8B51BD52- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Deputy Sheriff Manuel gave the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office 13 years.
Thank you for your service to the West Palm Beach community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Manuel.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Sheriff Donta J. Manuel is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In FL, 313 of 1,008 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.1% of this state's fallen. That is 0.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, 9 of 23 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Donta J. Manuel's cause is highlighted.
How Donta J. Manuel Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Donta J. Manuel is highlighted in Nov.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
22 officers from Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
