A police officer died early Tuesday morning after a wrong-way car crash that took place near downtown Tampa.
NBC affiliate WFLA-TV reports the crash took place around 1 a.m. along I-275 near Hillsborough Avenue and Sligh Avenue, with officers saying a 25-year-old male driver was traveling the wrong way when he hit the patrol car.
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WATCH HERETampa Police Department officials confirmed both the driver and the officer died in the crash. The officer was later identified as 45-year-old Jesse Madsen.
TPD Chief Brian Dugan said Madsen was a highly decorated officer who had been with the department for 16 years and leaves behind four children.
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“This is a tragedy,” Dugan said. “Our community has been rocked by these wrong-way drivers. It’s a complete tragedy that a husband and father of four is now gone.”
A police motorcade escorted Madsen’s body from the scene to the Medical Examiner’s office in Tampa.
