An off-duty New Smyrna Beach Police Department officer was killed in a single-vehicle accident early Thursday morning, according to the department and the Florida Highway Patrol.
- Patrol officer Josh Calverley died at the scene
- He was remembered as soft spoken with a 'big heart'
- Investigation is ongoing
At about 1:45 a.m., patrol officer Josh Calverley was driving his 2004 Toyota pickup truck northbound on U.S. 1 when for some reason, the 29-year-old driver lost control and went into the median, troopers say.
Calverley, of South Daytona, overcorrected and went into the east shoulder, where his pickup overturned. The roof of the truck hit a tree, the FHP said.
Marie Toth lives near by and came out to see what happened.
“I saw this red truck that hit into the woods there and when they towed it... I knew you couldn’t be survived in that,” said Toth.
He died at the scene.
Calverley began his career as a New Smyrna Beach police officer, and was also an Army veteran. He was just a month and a half away from celebrating a two-year anniversary on Dec. 17.
Instead, it was his own law enforcement brothers and sisters who first had to witness this tragedy.
"Once on the scene, officers unfortunately learned the deceased driver of the vehicle was one of our own," said Lt. Shane Riggle in a news release. "The members of the New Smyrna Beach Police Department are heartbroken to report the loss of one of our family members. Josh Calverley was a soft spoken officer with a big heart."
Police said Calverley didn’t not have any children. They are asking for anyone who may have witnessed this crash to call Florida Highway Patrol.