DETROIT – An off-duty Detroit police officer died behind the wheel Thursday, and there are unanswered questions about the crash.
The Detroit Police Department is in mourning after Officer James Hearn was unexpectedly killed in a car crash. Hearn was just 27 years old, and according to Police Chief James Craig said he was building a reputation as one of the department's most dependable and enthusiastic officers.
Hearn's girlfriend was also killed in the crash, in which Hearn was driving and she was sitting in the front passenger seat.
Hearn worked out of the Detroit Downtown Services section, which handles crowd control and traffic.
The crash happened around 3:30 a.m. Thursday on Woodward Avenue at the State Fair intersection. Hearn's car slammed into a light pole in the median, police said.
Eyewitnesses said Hearn wasn't speeding, yet he and his girlfriend were killed on impact. Craig said the airbags deployed.
The four-year veteran of the Detroit Police Department spent Wednesday morning volunteering with the Police Athletic League mentoring program. He later took his 11-year-old daughter fishing.
She was in the car when the crash happened, but she only suffered minor injuries.
"Another tragedy," Craig said. "I will tell you that we lose a lot of the good ones. James was the ultimate community police officer. He loved his job."
Hearn spent the first few years of his career in the 12th Precinct. He immediately distinguished himself by running into a burning home on Washburn Street and saving a woman trapped inside, Craig said. Hearn received the medal of valor and a lifesaving citation.
"I don't know too many police officers, myself included, that like to go into burning buildings," Craig said. "We deal with other things. James was exceptional, and he did that."
Craig said investigators are looking into what happened in the crash. He doesn't expect anything out of the ordinary to come from the investigation.
Hearn also leaves behind a young son.