Off-duty officer behind the wheel in deadly Milton crash

MILTON, Mass. — An off-duty Boston police officer was driving a Jeep that hit and killed a teenager in Milton Wednesday.

According to police, 18-year-old Katelisa Etienne was crossing the street on Brush Hill Road at Aberdeen Road when a Jeep Wrangler struck her.

FOX25 has confirmed that Boston Police Sgt. Warren Hoppie was driving the Jeep Wrangler at the time of the crash and there was a child in the vehicle with him.

Etienne was on her way to an after school tutoring program at a Mattapan church when she was hit.

Chantal Firmin, who worked with Etienne at the program for more than two years, said her fellow students are shaken by the sudden loss.

"This was like her second home," Firmin told FOX25. "It's very hard for me to take, I'm still shaking."

Another instructor told FOX25 Etienne was planning her high school graduation party and was excited about her future in college.

"I liked her perseverance, her outgoing [nature], her willingness to help," said Harding Ounaian.

Etienne's mother said her classmates at Milton High are planning a vigil for some time soon, as the family prepares for Etienne's wake and funeral, which is set for Friday, March 18.

"Sergeant Hoppie is twenty year veteran of the Boston Police Department currently assigned to Area E-5 in West Roxbury. He is deeply saddened about the tragic accident and is cooperating fully with the ongoing State Police investigation," a statement from the Boston Police Department said.

Boston Police said the officer remains on active duty; no charges have been filed.

Cox Media Group