PATERSON, New Jersey (WABC) --
Authorities say a speeding Paterson, New Jersey police officer was killed in a car crash Sunday morning.
At about 10:50 a.m., police responded to the area of 150 Getty Avenue in Paterson in response to a vehicle collision.
The Passaic County Prosecutor says the on-duty police officer was driving a marked patrol unit when it collided with a parked SUV vehicle.
The officer was the only person involved in the crash and was pronounced dead at Saint Joseph's Regional Medical Center. No one else was injured.
The officer's name has not been released.
A police source identified the officer as Tamby Yagan, who had been with the Paterson police force for 12 years.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
However, based on the frontal right damage to Tamby Yagan's car, he was driving at a significant speed prior to the collision. He most likely tried to illegally pass another vehicle ahead of him. and he end up crashing into the parked vehicle in Getty Avenue.
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An on-duty city police officer was killed in a motor vehicle crash on Getty Avenue on Sunday morning, Passaic County prosecutor Camelia Valdes and police chief Troy Oswald said in a joint statement.
Police responded to report of a motor vehicle collision at 150 Getty Avenue at about 10:50 a.m. At the scene responding officers discovered their colleague had crashed into a parked vehicle.
Authorities did not identify the officer. A police source identified the officer as Tamby Yagan, who had been with the Paterson police force for 12 years. He was inside a marked police vehicle during the crash.
Yagan, 41, of Wayne, was the only person involved in the crash. He was taken to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center for treatment. He later died from his injuries, according to police.
Authorities said no other parties were injured as a result of the crash. Cause of the crash remains under investigation, said authorities.
Community leaders who knew the officer expressed their condolences.
“My heart is broken,” said councilman Luis Velez, who knew the officer for more than a decade. “He was a really nice guy and a good office. He was a high standard police officer. I never saw him looking down at people.”
“Amazing cop,” said former three-term councilman Aslon Goow, who has known the officer for 20 years, on his way to the hospital to pay his respects to the deceased officer. “A real gentleman. Very humble. Very kind.”
Goow, who is Circassian, said the officer hails from the area’s Circassian community.
Police director Jerry Speziale said the police department is mourning the loss of one of its own. He referred all inquires to the prosecutor’s office.