Memphis, TN – Memphis Police Department (MPD) Officer Corille “CJ” Jones died in the line of duty Thursday morning after his patrol car was hit by another vehicle.
The 32-year-old officer driving eastbound on Shelby Drive on his way to a call at approximately 2:30 a.m. when two vehicles heading northbound on Pleasant Hill Road crashed into him, WMC reported.
One of the drivers was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.
Officer Jones was rushed to Regional One hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) is handling the ongoing investigation into the fatal three-car pileup, WATN reported.
MPD Chief CJ Davis confirmed the young officer’s death later Thursday morning, according to WMC.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the citizen that lost their lives and also to our officer,” Chief Davis said. “This is just a reminder of the risks that our officers take every day.”
Officer Jones served the MPD for nearly two years.
“We are deeply saddened over the tragic and untimely death of one of our very own, Memphis Police Officer Corille Jones,” the MPD said in a Facebookpost on Friday. “Officer Jones came to work every day to serve the citizens of Memphis and did so with a pleasant disposition and a smile on his face.”
“Officer Jones personified what it means to be the Best in Blue,” the department noted. “His hard work and dedication to serving our community will be missed.”
His mother, Sharon Jones, said she spoke with her son shortly before his tragic death, WREG reported.
“He said ‘yeah, I’m finna go save some lives,’” she recalled. “And I was like ‘alright baby be careful.’”
“My heart hurts so bad. I don’t know how to react. I don’t know what to feel,” the grieving mother told WREG. “All I know is hurt right now.”
Officer Jones served with the Memphis Fire Department prior to joining the MPD, said his aunt, Vicki Logan.
“He was a very good officer, fair, understanding, and pretty much an all-around good guy,” Logan told WREG.
His friend, Antonio Pickens, told WATN Officer Jones was one of the most “cheerful, giving, loving people you could ever know in life.”
“Once he got his career and everything, you could just tell like, he was so in love with what he was doing,” Pickens said.
“He was good family man and if you were friends with CJ, he made sure you were good,” said another friend, Anthony Ashton.
Officer Jones leaves behind his two daughters, ages one and eight.
“He loved kids, so his daughters, they are his world,” Sharon Jones told WREG. “He got some friends and family that loved him so much they are going to make sure those girls never have to go without.”
A fundraising campaign established to help his family in the wake of their loss has raised over $29,000 so far.