A California sheriff’s deputy has been charged after a high-speed crash killed a groom-to-be and left his fiancée severely injured just one month before their wedding.
Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Glynn Wilburn is facing charges of gross vehicular manslaughter, felony reckless driving causing serious injury, and a great bodily injury enhancement, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
The charges stem from a Sept. 6, 2025, crash involving Gavin Hinkley and his fiancée, Madeline Fox.
Authorities said Wilburn was responding to a report of shots fired and was driving on Cherry Valley Boulevard at about 100 mph before entering an intersection and colliding with another vehicle at about 71 mph.
Hinkley, who was driving, was killed. Fox, his fiancée, was severely injured.
According to the district attorney’s office, moments before the crash, dispatch had confirmed that there were no reported injuries, the suspect vehicle had already left the scene, and deputies had already arrived at the location of the reported shooting.
An arraignment date for Wilburn has not yet been scheduled.
At the time of the crash, Hinkley and Fox were running errands and preparing for their upcoming wedding, according to law firm Panish Shea Ravipudi.
“What happened to Gavin and Madeline was preventable,” Fox’s family said in a statement, adding that the couple “deserved the opportunity to build the life they had planned together.”
Hinkley’s parents, Lauren and Cory Hinkley, remembered their son as “a beloved brother, fiancé, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend.”
“He was kind, hardworking, and deeply loved by everyone who knew him,” they said. “He had his entire life ahead of him — a future filled with dreams, plans, and a wedding to the woman he loved. That future was taken from him in an instant. Gavin should still be here.”
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said his office is aware of the criminal charges filed against the deputy.
“The California Highway Patrol conducted a very thorough investigation, and our DA’s Office determined the driving actions of our deputy rose to the level of negligence,” Bianco said in a statement.
He added that the crash “claimed the life of a young man and forever changed the life of a young woman who was a passenger.”
“My heart goes out to the families of both victims,” the sheriff said.
Bianco said deputies sometimes have a duty to respond quickly to emergency calls, but that response must still include “due diligence to ensure the safety of the public.”
A GoFundMe created for Fox in October 2025 has raised more than $47,000.
The fundraiser says Fox suffered a traumatic brain injury, fractures to her eye socket, jaw, rib, hip, pelvis and lower spine, as well as internal injuries to her spleen, a punctured lung and a laceration to her face.
Because of her brain injury, the fundraiser says she has had to relearn how to swallow and rebuild basic motor skills.
“Madeline and Gavin’s love story was altered forever when a Riverside County sheriff, going at a reckless speed, hit them leaving Madeline in critical condition and taking the life of Gavin just one month before their wedding,” the fundraiser reads.
