Hall County remembers resilient deputy who carried Paralympic torch

Hall County remembers resilient deputy who carried Paralympic torch

Hall County Sheriff's Office members are honoring former patrol deputy Betty Jean Uriegas, who died over the weekend at age 66, nearly 32 years after surviving a line-of-duty crash that left her with quadriplegia.

Deputy Sheriff Betty Jean Uriegas, Hall County Sheriff's Office, Georgia

Deputy Sheriff Betty Uriegas succumbed to injuries she received in a single-vehicle crash on August 17, 1994, around 2:15 a.m. While on patrol on Georgia Highway 13 during a rainstorm from...

Betty Jean Uriegas - Now Georgia

Photo courtesy of Now Georgia Betty Jean Uriegas, 66, passed away on August 8, 2026. Born and raised in Lula, Georgia, Betty built a life and career defined by service, courage, and an unshakeable will. She began her professional life at the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, first working in the Hall County Detention Center, then a dispatcher, and ultimately becoming a sheriff’s deputy, her dream job. She was one of only a few women serving with the…

Betty Uriegas, former Hall County deputy who inspired her neurosurgeon daughter, dies at 66

Betty Uriegas, a trailblazing former Hall County Sheriff's Office deputy who inspired her daughter, Dr. Betsy Grunch, to become a neurosurgeon, died Aug. 8, according to an obituary. She was 66.