A police officer has died after a wrong-way car crash early Tuesday near downtown Tampa, Florida, according to news outlet WFLA-TV.
The officer was identified as Jesse Masden, 45, by Tampa Police Department officials, the NBC affiliate reported.
The crash happened along Interstate 275 near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Sligh Avenue. Officers said a 25-year-old driver was traveling the wrong way when they hit the patrol car, WFLA-TV reported. The driver also died, according to WFLA.
“This is a tragedy. Our community has been rocked by these wrong-way drivers."
Masden was a highly decorated officer and had been with the department for 16 years, Police Chief Brian Dugan told the TV station. He leaves behind three children, the station reported.
“This is a tragedy,” Dugan told WFLA. “Our community has been rocked by these wrong-way drivers.”
A police motorcade escorted Masden’s body to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Tampa, WFLA reported.
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