A West Virginia police officer and Pennsylvania native who died in a car crash over the weekend is being remembered by his family as “loved and respected” and by his department as an “incredible person.”
Morgantown Police Officer and K-9 handler Zane Breakiron was killed in the off-duty single-car crash that the department said occurred either Friday night or Saturday morning on Route 43 in Monongalia County, W.Va.
Breakiron, 34, had served nearly seven years on the Morgantown force and was originally from Uniontown, Fayette County, in southwestern Pennsylvania, reported KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh.
Dr. Garrett Breakiron gave a statement to KDKA about his son.
“Zane was the type of son who made his mother and father proud,” he said. “Everyone in our community loved and respected him. We know that Zane now has a place in heaven.”
In a post on its Facebook page, the Morgantown Police Department said that Breakiron “was an absolute blessing” to anyone who met him.
“He was not only an incredible person, but a fantastic police officer as well,” the post read. “His presence was a source of comfort to friends, family, coworkers and community members alike.”
KDKA also reported that Breakiron had recently been accepted to become a U.S. marshal.
Breakiron’s death came just hours after a West Virginia state trooper was shot and killed in the southern part of the state Friday afternoon. Sgt. Cory Maynard was killed in a gun battle while he and other officers responded to a call about shots being fired.
The suspect in that case, Timothy Kennedy, was captured by police.
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