Clayton County police officer, 22, killed in 2-car crash

A Clayton County police officer who died in a two-car crash Monday morning has been identified.

Officer Armondo Mendoza, 22, was injured in the wreck on Tara Boulevard at North Main Street, the Georgia State Patrol confirmed.

Mendoza was rushed to a hospital in critical condition following the crash with a silver sedan, the police department said in a news conference. He later died at the hospital.

Mendoza was driving to an off-duty job at the time of the collision, according to Channel 2 Action News. The first reports of the crash came in about 9:40 a.m., according to police spokeswoman Officer Aubriel Stroud.

The GSP said a Lexus ES330 that was trying to turn onto Main Street from Tara Boulevard failed to yield as Mendoza was driving his patrol car down the road. When the patrol car entered its path, the Lexus smashed into its driver’s side.

The driver of the Lexus, 81-year-old Hue Phan, was also taken to a hospital in critical condition. His current status was not released.

Stroud said the young officer had dreamed about entering law enforcement after seeing how things worked behind the scenes a few years ago. Mendoza had been in the job for a little more than a year.

“He came at one point to the department with his mother,” Stroud said. “They catered an event for the department and we met him there. And that’s when he realized that he wanted to be a police officer. ... He eventually joined the team.”

After the crash, Mendoza’s badly damaged patrol car came to rest in the parking lot of Preferred Roofing and Tools. The other vehicle involved remained in the road with significant damage.