Officer Chris Jones was working overtime when he was hit and killed Thursday morning while writing a ticket. He'd volunteered to stay late. That's the kind of guy he was said friends and fellow officers. Always ready to help.
The Middletown Township Police Officer had stopped a car for speeding on the shoulder of Route 1 near the I-95 interchange in Bucks County. While he was writing the ticket, a 3-car accident happened right behind him.
One of the cars spun out of control and hit Officer Jones. He was struck and pinned under his own police cruiser.
The 37 year old officer was rushed to the hospital where he died. Jones was married with three children and was about to become a detective.
Jones became the first Middletown police officer to die in the line of the duty in the department's 57-year existence. He is the 11th county cop to die in the line of duty since the 1920s, according to the Courier Times.
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Officer Jones was a 10-year veteran of the force, a graduate of Bensalem High School and a Navy Veteran.
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"I can't speak for the department, but for me it was like losing a son," said police chief Frank McKenna.
"I've known Chris for a long time and I don't think I've ever seen him in a bad mood," Officer Robert Weber said.
Other officers called his loss brutal and unbelievable. They called him a family man, a professional and a good cop.
"He always talked about being with his family," Detective Dale Keddie told the Courier Times. "Whether it was camping or just doing a regular family thing."
Neighbor Rosemary Hauser told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Jones doted on his children, helping build a treehouse and gently instilling in them a sense of duty. Hauser, 70, lives alone, and Jones' children shoveled her snow and raked her leaves.
When a large tree limb fell in Hauser's back yard recently, Jones hauled it away.
"They've always watched out for me," Hauser said. That's just the kind of guy he was.
