A California Highway Patrol officer died in a serious car crash on Highway 880 near Hayward, according to reports.
He was killed late Sunday night when a suspected drunk driver hit his SUV as it was parked on the side of Highway 880. Another CHP officer was injured.
The driver of the vehicle was identified as a 22-year-old man from Hayward, who, according to Sanchez, “had too much to drink and too much to smoke.”
The man was on his way home from a holiday party and was under the influence of marijuana and alcohol, Sanchez stated.
“This is not the way we wanted to celebrate Christmas Day,” Sanchez was quoted as saying. “Today is a tragic day.”
The other officer, Jonathan Velasquez, was hospitalized with major injuries, KRON-4 reported. On Monday, he was still in the hospital.
California Gov. Jerry Brown issued a statement about the crash.
Brown said that Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff to honor Camilleri, who had been working for the CHP for about a year.
Various CHP offices issued statements on the crash.