By O’Ryan Johnson
Boston Herald
LOWELL, Mass. — A Lowell police officer with brilliant career prospects and two young children was killed in a crash with an alleged drunken driver just after midnight Saturday, cops said.
Patrick Johnson, 31, a Marine Corps veteran who joined the city’s police department in 2004, was struck by a car at the intersection of Princeton Boulevard and Foster Street about 12:30 a.m. yesterday.
“The department is devastated,’' said Lowell police Chief Kenneth Lavallee. “Everyone is very distraught.’'
Lavallee said the driver of the car that hit Johnson, Theary Chan, 26, of Lowell was charged with motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence, failure to stop at a stop sign and an open-container violation.
Chan, who was hospitalized after the crash, is expected to be arraigned in Lowell District Court tomorrow morning.
Lavallee called Johnson, who was off duty at the time of the crash, an “outstanding’’ young officer who was assigned to the Community Response Team, commonly known as the gang unit.
He said prior to joining the city’s police force, the six-year veteran graduated from Lowell High School in 1997 and served four years in the Marine Corps, where he rose to the rank of sergeant.
Johnson was married and had two children, a 3-year-old boy and an infant daughter. He received commendations for meritorious performance this year and in 2005, Lavallee said.
“This young man was a real gentlemen and an excellent, excellent police officer,’' Lavallee said. “We are going to miss him.’'
Copyright 2010 Boston Herald Inc.