A California Highway Patrol officer was struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver on Christmas Eve, officials said.

Officer Andrew Camilleri, 33, was in the passenger seat of a parked patrol car when the vehicle was hit around 11:20 p.m. Sunday on the San Francisco Bay Area highway.

Camilleri was in the patrol car with Officer Jonathan Velasquez, who was sitting in the driver’s seat and suffered minor injuries in the crash.

The 33-year-old officer was transported to St. Rose Hospital in Hayward where he was pronounced dead.

The California Highway Patrol said the driver who struck the officers’ vehicle was 22 years old and under the influence of alcohol and possibly marijuana. The unidentified driver was also returning from a party.

Assistant Chief Ernest Sanchez said the driver was traveling at a high speed on Interstate 880 when he slammed into the back of the patrol car parked on the right shoulder. The crash shut down southbound lanes of the highway for hours.

Camilleri began his career with the California Highway Patrol just last year on August 27, 2016, officials said.

He leaves behind a wife and three children who expected him to be home to open Christmas presents, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“We offer our thoughts and prayers to his family, friends and colleagues as we collectively mourn this heartbreaking tragedy,” the CHP Golden Gate Division said Monday.

Prayers and condolences to the family. The darn drunk will likely get a medal in that retard state.

Very sad

My boyhood and best friend was killed by a drunk driver who was also smoking dope.

I'm sure glad we legalized something else that kills innocent folks.

Very sad, condolences to all....


There have been studies that suggest "god lights", whether blue and red or yellow, attract drunks like moths to a flame.

Something for those of us who work on the shoulders of highways to think about.

This^^^. Been through that, too.
Benny pulled over on the side to change out a flat tire while his date got out and stood by the car as a drunk smashed into him while he was behind his car.
Drunks tend to pull toward the ligbts ahead of them. Teach your kids this. Dont change flats on the shoulder. Dont pull over on the shoulder in a heavy rain. Use a side road to park on in bad fog or rain or to fix a flat.

To drive on a highway is pretty silly.

To park on one is downright foolish.

Bad deal.

Talk about retarded..

More than likely inbred as well.

And stay out of the "fast" lane on highways, drunks tend to use them thinking they are driving in the proper lane.

I hate drunks.

I do believe that is something this generation of young people do better than us older folks
The dont seem to drink and drive as much as my generation


The results are not good
Glad they are learning

Hank

Bruce, smoking dope is harmless. Lots of upstanding, high functioning individuals do it. You'd have to be an idiot to think dope smokers could harm anyone. All they want is ice cream.

I read that here on the fire.

Hell of a Christmas for his family.

And think about the anniversary. Christmas now has new meaning for the family, a reminder every year.

Prayers up.






P

Hope that fugger had a rough ride to the PD.

So do I- used to be one. Now I can't stand to be around one. Fry the bastard!

Same here. Fry the selfish bastard.

RIP

Nothing new. Alcohol and driving is deadly.

Prayers to the family.
It could have been me. @25yrs ago, I applied to the CHP, went through the entire hiring process, and after passing everything, I was informed I was an excellent Candidate, and the hiring would begin in @ 6 months. I asked why that had not been disclosed and was told no one would apply. There was a hiring freeze in place, and I needed to eat now.
I went to work in a machine shop building drivelines instead.

They're not learning jackschid , they are just replacing drunk driving with texting while driving. The results are the same.


Mike

Colorado has had a couple of those in the last few years. Right now they set up and enforce the changing lanes and slowing laws. Wyoming has a law that you drop 20 below when passing a trooper with lights going, I do, and I bet if I didn't they wouldn't take long to let me know about it.

Denver had a cop crippled for life because she was getting gear from the trunk and the lid hid the lights. Now they have lights inside the trunk lid too.

Any studies ever done on arrows or something that would direct drivers to change lanes? Instead of being mesmerized and heading for it?

This sucks big time, and nothing we can do will change it.

Keep in mind there was no such thing as cell phones when most of y'all were young and driving. Secondly I see PLENTY of older people texting while driving so insinuating thats poor judgement committed solely by the youth just isn't so.

Over and over legislatures have tried to pass really stiff drunk driving laws but the people don't want them. They only get mad when someone gets killed. The rest of the time people seem to want lax laws. Drinking and texting laws could be made so rigid that nobody but an idiot would do it but it won't happen. A legislator who pushes laws like that won't get re-elected.

I lost one of my friends to a drunk driver, who was from Mexico and did not have the right to be here.

I bet there is a bigger percentage around the holiday season