One Prince George's County police officer was killed and another was injured in a crash on Interstate 95 Monday afternoon.
The incident occurred shortly after 1 p.m. near Powder Mill Road.
The officers were investigating a theft from an automobile call when they spotted a vehicle that matched the description of the suspect vehicle. They were attempting to catch up with the car, described as a silver Acura with temporary tags, when the cruiser went off the roadway, police said. The officer driving the police cruiser died, and the other officer suffered multiple non-life threatening injuries.
The deceased officer was described as a 23-year-old man who had been an officer with the police department for two-and-a-half years. Before that, he had been part of the Police Explorers program, a program for youth interested in law enforcement careers, Police Chief Mark Magaw said.
"He certainly loved this job," Magaw said.
The injured police officer was described as a young man who had one year on the police department.
Magaw said that driving skills are emphasized at the beginning of police training.
"This job is not an easy job by any means," he said.
