State police have confirmed a New Jersey Department of Corrections was killed over the weekend in a motorcycle crash.

Sgt. Tyler Ford, 29, of Hamilton, was killed Saturday in a motorcycle crash on the New Jersey Turnpike, according to state police.

The New Jersey Department of Corrections confirmed the news on its Facebook page. The department said Ford has been with the NJDOC since 2014.

“Our hearts are broken at the loss of this valuable member of the NJDOC and Edna Mahan Correctional Facility family," the post said.

The crash occurred on the southbound Turnpike in East Brunswick around 10 p.m. NJDOC said Ford was off duty during the time of the crash.

New Jersey State Police Sgt. Philip Curry said an investigation revealed that a Mitsubishi Outlander was traveling south in the area of milepost 78.7 and attempted to avoid debris in the roadway and lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle was involved in a single vehicle collision and became disabled partially in the left lane and left shoulder.

Curry said the Mitsubishi was then struck by a Toyota that became disabled partially in the center lane and left lane. The Toyota was then struck by a BMW X3. A BMW 330i encountered the disabled three vehicles in its path of travel and came to a stop in the left lane.

Ford was driving a Suzuki GSX-R600 motorcycle directly behind the BMW 330i. The Suzuki then struck the left driver side of the BMW 330i and the right side of the Mitsubishi. Ford was ejected during the collision and sustained fatal injuries, according to Curry. No additional injuries were reported on scene.

The left and center lanes of the southbound outer roadway were closed for three hours due to the accident. The crash remains under investigation.