A Jamestown, Rhode Island police officer was killed in a head-on crash while driving home early Monday morning.
Officer Ryan Bourque had just gotten off his night shift and was headed home to Coventry when his Dodge Charger was struck by another vehicle driven by Dejae T. Pizarro shortly after midnight, according to WPRI-TV.
The 24-year-old officer was transported to Rhode Island Hospital, and Pizarro to Kent Hospital where both were later pronounced dead.
Rhode Island State Police Capt. John Allen told the news station that Pizarro made a U-turn in the middle of the highway in West Greenwich and began traveling north on the southbound fast lane.
After about a half a mile, Allen said that the man's Toyota sped up as he approached the officer's vehicle.
Bourque was a 2015 graduate of the Rhode Island Municipal Police Academy. The collision occurred on the one-year anniversary of his time on the force.
Jamestown Police Chief Edward Mello called Bourque a quiet, good-hearted young man who became a police officer to help people.
The Rhode Island State Polices Accident Reconstruction and Forensic Services Units are assisting in the investigation of the crash.
