Virginia Police Officer Killed In Traffic Stop After Car Drags Her and Crashes Into a Tree
A close knit community in Virginia is reeling after the death of one of its police officers, who was killed during a routine traffic stop this week.
On Thursday, Katie Thyne, a police officer in Newport News, Virginia found herself caught in the door of a car. Unable to free herself, Thyne was dragged for about a block until the vehicle crashed into a tree, pinning and killing her.
The tragedy unfolded when Thyne, 24, responded to a drug complaint with another officer, CNN reported. Instead of getting out of the car when the two officers asked, the driver allegedly took off — pulling Thyne along in the process.
Thyne was dragged for about a block before the car crashed into a tree. She sustained multiple injuries and was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The Newport News Police department confirmed Thyne’s death in a Facebook statement on Friday.
“Officer Thyne leaves behind her mother, three brothers, stepfather, her 2-year-old daughter and her loving partner,” the statement said. “Officer Thyne was an amazing mother, officer and friend. Words cannot adequately describe how much we miss her. She will always be a part of the Newport News Police family.”
Thyne was remembered by her fellow officers as a hero who was “always smiling.”
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“She was a true hero and served this community. She is and will always be a valued member of the department,” said Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew in a press conference, according to CNN.
“I think it is evident by the individuals in this room how much the department cares about our community and each other,” Drew said, according to Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily. “We will lean on each other, we will lean on our community, faith leaders, city administration.”
“It does not matter what branch or what uniform you wear,” Drew continued. “We do not take this job to become rich, we take it because we care.”
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In addition to her work as a police officer, Thyne was also a volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club of the Virginia Peninsula.
“We have officers that have given and paid for their shoes and clothes and gifts… she was one of those officers,” said the Boys and Girls Club’s Chief Operations Officer Angel Nelson to the local CBS Station. “She worked all day or all night and then she came here on a Saturday and still volunteered to give her time and talent.”
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“Her nickname is ‘Bean,'” Nelson told CBS of Thyne, who coached basketball. She died just two days before her team was scheduled to play in a tournament. “She’s a three-point guru. If you see every three points she tries to shoot, she makes,” said Nelson.
“We need to still continue to move on and be positive and show her that what she did to help them wasn’t in vain,” Nelson shared with the outlet.
“Officer Thyne herself was a tremendous advocate for this program and was at every single function that we had, so there is a huge impact with the girls that she coached on the three-on-three,” added the CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of the Virginia Peninsula, Hal Smith, CBS reported.
The driver, who has since been identified as Vernon Evander Green, was arrested after the crash, the Newport News Police Department confirmed to PEOPLE. He has been charged with homicide, evade and elude law enforcement and drug possession, police said, and he is being held at the Newport News City Jail.
It is unclear if Green, 38, has legal representation.
