A 25-year-old Detroit police officer has died following a crash during a training exercise on the city’s west side on Tuesday morning.
Officer Darren Weathers (above) was taken by EMS to Henry Ford Hospital following the crash and later died from his injuries.
Chief James Craig called Weathers “a hero, and one of Detroit’s finest.”
Officer Weathers was on duty in an unmarked vehicle, according to police, and was in the only one in the car at the time of the crash. Craig said there was a second vehicle involved in the accident, but the two or three people inside the other car did not suffer any serious injuries.
The chief said it’s unclear at this time if speed was a factor.
Weathers — who went by the nickname “Lucky” — had been on the job for only about a year and-a-half at the time of his death.
The chief credited Weathers with saving the life of his partner, Officer Waldis Johnson, who was shot in the head while responding to a domestic violence call last spring. Weathers was awarded the Medal of Valor for his efforts.
Craig said that more details about the training exercise and the crash would be released at a later time.