Condolences began pouring in Friday for an LAPD veteran who died in a crash.
Training Officer Nicholas Choung Lee, 40, died when the patrol vehicle he was in collided with a dump truck at Loma Vista Driver near Doheny Road in Beverly Hills.
"RIP officer Nicholas Lee," wrote Kanary Diamonds on Twitter. "Prayers for your family."
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck posted a tribute to Lee on Instagram and Twitter.
"A man of greatness and selflessness," Beck called him. "Nick was a great cop. May he rest in peace."
California Attorney General Kamala Harris expressed her condolences in a statement released Friday evening.
“On behalf of the California Department of Justice, I extend my heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Officer Nicholas Lee," she said. "His death is a grave loss for the dedicated men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department and the whole of California’s law enforcement community. Our thoughts are also with the officer who was critically injured alongside Officer Lee."
Christopher T. Landavazo, said "not only did I lose a friend, but a fellow LAPD Officer. RIP Nick."
Lee leaves behind a wife and two young daughters. He was a 16-year veteran of the department and received over 70 commendations.
Most recently, Lee was involved in sending a live birthday card video to a 7-year-old boy suffering from Leukemia.
Officers formed a line and saluted as Lee’s body was moved from the crash site to a coroner’s vehicle. LA Mayor Eric Garcetti and Beck also visited the scene to pay their respects.
A female probationary officer who recently graduated from the academy and the truck driver were hospitalized but both were expected to survive.
The officers were responding to a call at the time of the crash, but it was unclear whether the vehicle’s lights and sirens were activated.
Flags were being flown at half-staff at City Hall following the crash.
Lee was the first LAPD officer to die in the line of duty in more than five years.
