Philadelphia, PA : Police officer died after car slammed into motorcycle in the northeastern section of the city on Sunday afternoon, AUG 30, 2015

An off-duty police officer died in a hit-and-run crash in Northeast Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon, police said.

A car slammed into the officer’s motorcycle on E. Roosevelt Blvd. and Devereaux Ave. at around 4 p.m., police told The Philadelphia Inquirer. Medical staff at Aria Health-Torresdale Campus pronounced the officer dead roughly an hour later, the newspaper reported.

Lamar Poole Sr., 42, was serving with the Philadelphia Police Department's 12th Police District in his 19th year on the force, WCAU-TV reported. Police told the TV station he was riding a 2005 Honda without a helmet.

A 59-year-old Philadelphia man suspected of being drunk turned his Toyota Corolla left in front of Poole's bike, cops said, according to the TV station. Poole was traveling west on Devereaux and the car came from the other direction, investigators told WCAU.

Poole fell off his motorcycle and the driver got out of his car for a moment before continuing north on Roosevelt, police said, citing eyewitnesses. Officers found the Corolla driver a few blocks from the collision with the help of another driver, Philadelphia Police Capt. John Wilczynski told WCAU.

"Fortunately we had a couple of witnesses, one being a tow truck driver, who followed the vehicle and really helped out big time," Wilczynski said. "He followed the car, pinned the car in and called police."

Police have taken the driver who struck Poole's bike into custody, but they haven't released his name, the TV station reported. The driver was arested for suspected driving under the influence, representatives for the Philadelphia police said Monday.

The fatal collision came just over a week after another Philadelphia officer died when his pickup truck hit a tree, according to WCAU.

Source:

Off-duty officer riding motorcycle killed in hit-and-run crash in Philadelphia: police