An El Paso police motorcycle officer died Monday after being injured in a chain-reaction crash last week, police officials said.
Officer David Ortiz had been with the police department for nine years and was a traffic officer assigned to the Pebble Hills Regional Command.
Ortiz had been hospitalized since Thursday afternoon when he was hit from behind by a car while the officer was stopped at a red light on Lee Treviño Drive at Vista Del Sol Drive.
Ortiz was hit by a Kia Optima driven by a 45-year-old man, who was also hospitalized after the crash. The man's name has not been released.
The first impact caused a chain-reaction, police officials had said. The Kia also hit a red Acura in front of the motorcycle. The Acura was then pushed into the back of an orange 1976 Chevrolet pickup. The crash caused the Kia to burst into flames, which also burned the motorcycle.
The accident is under investigation. No one has been charged.
A department news release stated that Ortiz was the 31st El Paso police officer to die in the line of duty. Ortiz is the second El Paso police officer to die in a motorcycle accident in less than a year.
On March 18, 2015, Officer Adrian Arellano was killed when a car struck his police motorcycle while Arellano was working off-duty escorting a funeral procession.
Condolences on the death of Ortiz were sent out by various area law enforcement agencies and organizations.
"United as a community, The El Paso County Sheriff's Office offers our deepest condolences to the Ortiz family," the sheriff's office said in a statement.
The Las Cruces Police Department said in a statement that it "extends its collective condolences to the family, friends and co-workers" of Ortiz. "Rest in peace, Brother David Ortiz."
The El Paso Municipal Police Officers' Association stated on its website that information on funeral services was pending. "The El Paso Municipal Police Officers' Association asks that everyone please keep the entire Ortiz family in their thoughts and prayers during this most difficult time," the association said.
Copyright 2016 the El Paso Times (El Paso, Texas)
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