DETROIT -- They called 25-year-old Detroit Police Officer Darren Weathers “Lucky.’’
On Tuesday, with his young daughter in town from Atlanta, Weathers died after a violent crash on Michigan Avenue near Clark during a police training exercise.
Weathers was rushed to Henry Ford Hospital at 11:30 a.m. He died from his injuries Tuesday afternoon, said Detroit Police Chief James Craig.
"The force (of the other vehicle) pushed our officer's car in a metal pylon,'' said Craig. "If you know that area, railroad bridges circulate ... Striking that pylon at any speed can cause significant damage."
Weathers was part of a training exercise that was involved with surveillance.
"The hospital was phenomenal,'' said Craig. "They did everything they could to save his life. He he has a mother and father and I had to chance to briefly meet with them. He has an uncle who is a Detroit Police officer. He has a very young daughter that was traveling to meet with him. ... He was a phenomenal officer.''
Weathers was in the news last summer for a viral video on social media showing him doing push-ups, training and interacting with Detroit children.
Detroit Police Capt. Donna Torres said he was hardworking and enthusiastic about police work.
"He was an excellent officer," she said.
Weathers was recently awarded a Medal of Valor for his heroic actions in last year's shooting of his partner, Waldis Johnson.
The incident comes a little over a month after another DPD officer was involved in a crash and less than a month after another officer was shot and killed. Additionally, three police officers — two from DPD, and one from the city's school district — were shot earlier this week by a barricaded gunman.
On Jan. 9, around 6:50 a.m., a 62-year-old officer slid on ice and hit a wall on southbound I-75 and Vernor in southwest Detroit. He was taken to a hospital in serious condition
On Jan. 24, 25-year-old Officer Glenn Doss was shot and killed exiting his patrol car while responding to a domestic violence call.
The three police officers who were shot in the leg this week outside a home where a barricaded gunman was holed up on the 19000 block of Lamont survived.
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